'Nervous' man and 'suspiciously bulky' woman bust with drugs at SA airports

A 56-year-old man on his way to Rome was one of two people arrested on drug charges at Johannesburg airports at the weekend.

Police confirmed that the man, who appeared "nervous", was arrested after a routine search by members of the multi-disciplinary narcotics team at OR Tambo International Airport on Friday.

The task team was established to fight crime at ports of entry.

"The suspect was stopped for a search when he was about to board a flight to Rome. He had appeared nervous and the officials conducted a body search as well as a luggage search.

"Drugs, suspected to be cocaine, were discovered concealed in his bag. The suspected cocaine with an estimated street value of about R675,000 was recovered," said police spokesperson Lt-Col Katlego Mogale.

In a separate incident on Sunday, a 36-year-old woman who looked "suspiciously bulky" was arrested moments before boarding a flight.

"The suspect was about to board a flight from Lanseria to Cape Town International Airport when she was picked out of the line and taken to a dedicated search area. At the search area, members of Lanseria Border Police found two parcels suspected to be heroin, weighing 2kg, strapped around her body," said Mogale.

The duo were expected to appear in court on Tuesday on charges of dealing and possession of drugs.

Mogale applauded the swift arrest of the suspects.

"High levels of collaboration between stakeholders at the airport have once again paid off.  There have been breakthroughs made as a result of the ongoing integrated multi-disciplinary proactive fight against crime, especially the proliferation of drugs coming into and through the port," he said.