
Trends indicate that international drug traffickers are increasingly targeting OR Tambo International Airport, with another significant drug seizure reported this past weekend.
On Friday, law enforcement successfully intercepted a Paraguayan drug mule who attempted to evade capture by smuggling 33 cocaine pellets inside her stomach.
Another drug mule arrested at OR Tambo
Officials remarked that this arrest was part of ongoing efforts to tackle drug trafficking into South Africa, occurring shortly after the 43-year-old woman arrived from São Paulo on Friday, December 6.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Amanda van Wyk reported that the suspected mule was taken to a local hospital where an X-ray revealed foreign objects identified as drug pellets in her stomach.
In total, 33 cocaine-filled pellets were removed from the Paraguayan drug trafficker.
Four arrests in two weeks
This most recent arrest marks the fourth drug trafficker caught at the airport in just two weeks.
This past Tuesday, a 21-year-old man was apprehended after arriving from Brazil, where X-ray scans revealed multiple plastic-wrapped cocaine pellets concealed in his stomach.
On November 28, authorities arrested a 44-year-old Brazilian woman who had cocaine wrapped around her body.
This concealment technique mirrored that used by a 25-year-old Brazilian man taken into custody on November 24, who had over three kilograms of cocaine wrapped around himself. The street value of the seized cocaine is estimated at R1.8 million.
Worrying rise in drug trafficking at OR Tambo
Van Wyk disclosed earlier that 14 individuals have been arrested for drug trafficking at OR Tambo airport within a four-month period.
- In October, three people, two of whom were Dutch traffickers, were found with 80kg of Khat.
- Also in October, a 43-year-old Paraguayan man was arrested after arriving from São Paulo.
He was rushed to the hospital after suffering health complications from the ingested drug pellets, eventually expelling about 117 cocaine-filled pellets.
Deputy national commissioner overseeing policing, Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili, stated at that time that each pellet weighed approximately 10 grams.
“That is an enormous amount for one individual to consume,” Mosikili told TimesLIVE.
“Swallowing pellets is hazardous. There’s a risk of rupture inside the body, and they can also explode, potentially resulting in immediate death,” he emphasized.
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