Lesotho cannabis company Banel (Pty) Ltd has finally got its own back!
A protracted stand-off between Banel and Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) over the seizure of an imported R1.2-million (M1.2 million) cannabis consignment police unlawfully seized has ended after a court ordered the police to return the imported 500kg medicinal cannabis shipment confiscated in February 2026 on arrival from Thailand.
Lesotho Times reported on 4 September 2026 that Banel collected the cannabis on Tuesday 1 September 2026 after High Court Judge Maliepollo Makhetha directed the cops to release the cannabis to Banel in ruling that its seizure and continued detention were unlawful.
Banel managing director Kananelo Ntabejane (pictured here) approached the High Court on an urgent basis in July 2026 after the police repeatedly refused to release the cannabis despite the company producing permits and licences authorising its importation.
Apparently the police were holding two Banel consignments each weighing 500kg and comprising the cannabis strains OG Kush, Cookie Gelato, Sugar Bomb Punch, Meringue, Flash Mob, Northern Lights and 5 280 kg of dried flower. Justice Makhetha set aside the seizure and ordered the release of the two consignments, in an order binding on Police Commissioner Advocate Borotho Matsoso and his subordinates.
The saga began in February 2026 when LMPS intercepted cannabis worth US$75 000 (R1.2million/M1.23 million) after it arrived at Moshoeshoe I International Airport and held on to it instead of releasing it to Banel’s clearing agents. Ntabejane said the company had obtained a government-issued import permit on 27 February 2026 and also paid the required customs duties and taxes.
However, when he arrived at the airport, Revenue Services of Lesotho officers informed Ntabejane that police had already collected the cannabis. A police officer later assured him that the drugs had only been taken temporarily in order to ascertain quantity amounts, Ntabejane said.
Weeks and then months passed as Banel frantically sought to get the cosignment from police storage expressing fears that the cannabis would spoil under the unfavourable conditions it was being held and also arguing it was incurring losses due to the shipment’s continued detention.
Police subsequently summoned him to police headquarters so they could jointly assess the consignment. But to his surprise, officers had already opened the shipment and were counting the contents of the consignment when he arrived, he said.
Police failed to produce the consignment despite follow-up visits and repeated requests in June 2026, forcing Ntabejane to approach the court in July 2026.
Throughout the stand-off Banel maintained it was a duly licensed company authorised to manufacture, extract, process, store, distribute, import and export pharmaceutical, medicinal and botanical cannabis products at its facility at Ha Lechesa-Masaleng in Peka, Leribe, where the seized cannabis was destined for processing.
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