Crystal meth and cannabis seized at Johannesburg airport

09 June 2016 - 17:59 By TMG Digital

In the latest of a string of drug busts at South Africa's airports‚ South African Revenue Service customs officials have confiscated 3kg of Crystal Methamphetamine.The drugs were found in unaccompanied luggage at the OR Tambo International Airport (ORTIA) on Wednesday‚ Sars said on Thursday."A scan of the luggage‚ from Addis Ababa‚ revealed suspicious-looking images and on further inspection Crystal Methamphetamine with a street value of R9 million was found inside the bag‚ concealed in packages covered in brown tape."Also at ORTIA on Wednesday‚ Customs officials intercepted a trophy stand destined for the United Kingdom."Two detector dogs reacted positively to the item‚ whereupon the stand was dismantled‚" Sars said.Compressed cannabis weighing 19kg to the value of R26‚600 was found inside.The drugs were handed over to SAPS for further investigations.On Tuesday‚ a middle-aged man who had swallowed cocaine bullets weighing 1‚1 kilograms was caught during a routine search by the Trans-national Investigation Team of the South African Police Service at the Johannesburg airport.The value of the drugs is R325‚000‚ Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said.The 46-year-old man‚ who was travelling on a Nigerian-issued passport‚ was arrested as he was about to catch a connecting flight to Lagos‚ Nigeria. He was coming from Sao Paolo‚ Brazil.At the weekend‚ Customs officials at OR Tambo detained illicit narcotics from two separate flights arriving from Sao Paulo.In both cases the drugs were left behind in the toilet of the aircraft after the passengers had disembarked.In one case‚ a piece of cloth that looked like a sock was found containing 55 bullets of suspected cocaine‚ valued at R414‚000. In the other case‚ Customs officials found an abandoned small red backpack under the toilet’s dustbin. A detector dog indicated that the bag contained drugs weighing 3kg and worth R891‚000...

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