Acsa arrests woman after OR Tambo Airport security staff discovers brick of cocaine

A brick of cocaine was confiscated at OR Tambo International Airport on Thursday and a woman in her late twenties arrested after trying to smuggle the drugs onto a flight to Singapore.

In a statement Mzwandile Petros, group executive for Enterprise Security at Airports Company South Africa (Acsa), said:

“At approximately 12.30 on Thursday the airport’s security team, which is highly trained to notice suspicious and erratic behaviour, decided to approach the passenger who was about to catch a flight to Singapore.”

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Petros added the woman was asked to subject herself to a private search required by legal procedures.

During the search, security staff discovered the brick of cocaine. The weight and value of the haul has not been determined as yet.

A brick of cocaine typically weighs 1kg and has an average street value of between R500 000 and R1 million.

A gram of the substance costs between R500 and R1 000 on the streets, depending on quality, dealer relationships and whether it was delivered to the user’s front door or collected.

A gram of cocaine in Singapore can earn a dealer a whack of cash. According to some websites on the darknet, users could pay up to SSD500 (R6 109) for a gram.

Drugs are illegal in Singapore and the city state can fine users in possession of small amounts up to SD20 000 and up to a 10-year prison term.

The state ranks , according to Wikipedia, ranks drug trafficking beside murder, terrorism, the use of firearms and kidnapping – all punishable by death.

The woman could face between ten and twenty-five years behind bars.

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Petros said: “I have made it clear over the past couple of months that lawlessness at our airports will not be tolerated.

“Together with our security team we have increased our visibility and will continue to conduct random searches where we suspect foul play. I would also like to commend our security team for this operation.

“Keeping our airports safe from criminal acts is high on our priority list, and the ecurity of all passengers and customers are of paramount importance at ACSA.”