Recent arrests at OR Tambo International Airport involving drug trafficking suspects have reignited a debate on whether the government is doing enough to ensure South Africa does not turn into a drug mule-friendly country.
An alleged female drug trafficker was arrested at OR Tambo International Airport on Sunday and is said to have passed more than 110 drug “bullets” suspected to be cocaine, police said on Monday.
This was more than the average number of drug bullets drug mules intercepted at the airport usually carried.
The 21-year-old South African was profiled and intercepted as she arrived on a flight from São Paulo, Brazil, just before 9am on Sunday. She was taken to a hospital where an X-ray confirmed the presence of foreign objects in her stomach.
In a separate incident a 30-year-old woman from Namibia was arrested by police at the airport about a week ago.
She had flown from Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sunday, said police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe.
Mathe said she was the 10th drug mule to be arrested at OR Tambo International Airport in the past two months.
TimesLIVE
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