A 57-year-old foreign national, Patrick Izuchukwu Udeh (Nigerian), was arrested in Matafeni near Nelspruit on 18 February 2026 for dealing in drugs with an estimated street value of R250 000.

The arrest followed an intelligence-driven operation involving the SAPS Provincial Organised Crime Investigation unit, Whiteriver K9, and the Pienaar Tactical Response Team (TRT). During the raid, cocaine was recovered and seized for forensic investigation.

Udeh told police the drugs belonged to a friend who had left them for safekeeping in late January and had since fled to Johannesburg. Udeh appeared in the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court and will return on 3 March 2026.