Police arrested a Brazilian national for drug trafficking at OR Tambo International Airport on Sunday, the latest in a string of arrests for the cross-border crime.
SAPS spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Amanda van Wyk, said police had arrested the 25-year-old man and seized drugs valued at more than R1.8 million after acting on operationalised intelligence.
“He was found in possession of over three kilograms of drugs wrapped around his body which was later confirmed to be cocaine with an estimated value of R1.8 million. The suspect had just landed from São Paulo, Brazil, when he was arrested,” Van Wyk said.
He is expected to appear in court this week.
Van Wyk said the police were continuing to deal decisively with drug traffickers who attempted to enter the country.
In the past two months police have arrested at least 14 drug mules at OR Tambo International Airport. Every week during that time, SAPS has arrested at least one drug mule at the airport.
Among those arrested was a 21-year-old South African woman, who was the eleventh person arrested for drug trafficking at the airport.
At the time, the police said she was intercepted as she arrived on a flight from São Paulo.
She was taken to a local hospital where an X-ray confirmed that she had foreign objects in her stomach. – SAnews.gov.za
