Brazilian drug mule arrested at OR Tambo Airport

Police have arrested yet another drug mule at OR Tambo International Airport.

Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Amanda van Wyk said the suspect was handcuffed at the airport on Sunday.

Brazilian national found with cocaine

Van Wyk said the Brazilian national had just landed from São Paulo, in Brazil, when he was arrested.

“The South African Police Service (Saps) continues to deal decisively with those trafficking drugs into the country. Police operationalised intelligence and arrested a 25-year-old Brazilian national at OR Tambo International Airport for drug trafficking.

“He was found in possession of over three kilograms (3kg) of drugs wrapped around his body which was later confirmed to be cocaine with an estimated value of R1.8 million,” Van Wyk said.

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Drug traffickers

There has been a spate of drug traffickers arrested at OR Tambo International Airport in the last couple of months.

Last month, a bag was discovered at the airport with R25 million worth of cocaine in it.

National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the bag was found on a carousel for a flight from São Paulo, Brazil.

Mathe said no arrests were made and investigations were underway.

In a video shared by Mathe, more than 40 bricks of cocaine can be seen on a table.

The discovery of the cocaine came after 14 suspected drug mules were arrested at the airport in just over two months.

Khat seized

At the beginning of October, two Dutch nationals were caught trying to smuggle Khat at the Johannesburg airport.

They were arrested separately. In total, 80kg of Khat were seized.

“According to a preliminary report, both the 21-year-old and 59-year-old suspects were en route from South Africa to the Netherlands via Dubai when they were intercepted by police. They attempted to check in and board their flights on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively,” said Van Wyk.

In September, a 21-year-old South African woman and a 30-year-old Namibian woman were caught with drugs in their stomachs.

The women were found with 110 and 60 drug bullets respectively. Both of them arrived from Sao Paulo.

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