On 06 January 2024, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) advised that its Customs officers had seized 23 kilogrammes of narcotics disguised as moulded artwork, with an estimated street value of R37 million, at the cargo sheds of the OR Tambo International Airport.
The Customs officers were doing their inspection rounds when they came across a box headed for New Zealand. The box contained items of moulded artwork, which looked suspicious. The officers used a narcotics test kit and some of the items tested positive for crystal meth, which weighed 10kg.
A test by the South African Police Services (SAPS) on other items tested positive for fentanyl which weighed 13kg. The narcotics were handed over to the SAPS for further investigation.