NATIONAL NEWS - Gauteng police have made a massive drug bust in Midrand, seizing cocaine worth an estimated value of R20m.
Officers made the discovery at a smallholding on Tuesday.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the cocaine was discovered during a crime intelligence-driven operation.
Cocaine
On Tuesday evening, 28 October, a multidisciplinary team led by Crime Intelligence Head Office, inclusive of Gauteng Organised Crime Unit, Saps JHB K9 and members of the Local Criminal Record Centre (LCRC) were following up on information of drugs that were being stored at a plot in Blue Hills, Midrand.
“According to further investigation, the drugs were brought into South Africa from a neighbouring country and were destined for Cape Town, Western Cape,” Mathe said.
Arrest
Mathe said the cocaine was found hidden in a storage room on the plot.
“A 56-year-old man who is believed to be the owner of the plot has been arrested, and the cocaine weighing about 80kg has been seized.
“The suspect is expected to appear before the Midrand Magistrate’s Court this week, on a possible charge of possession of drugs as well as dealing in drugs,” Mathe said.
Drug trafficker
Earlier this year, Gauteng police arrested a 25-year-old drug trafficker at OR Tambo airport in possession of cocaine with a street value of R4.2m.
The woman was handcuffed on arrival from São Paulo (Brazil), via Doha (Qatar), at Johannesburg’s busiest airport.
Mathe said an intelligence team comprising Crime Intelligence Counter Narcotics Intel Gauteng, the South African Police Service Tactical Team at OR Tambo International Airport, the Tactical Team, the Border Management Authority (BMA), and private security successfully identified and intercepted the Brazilian national shortly after landing.
“A search of the trafficker’s luggage led police to uncover about 10kg of cocaine with an estimated value of R4.2m.”
The recent spate of drug mule arrests at OR Tambo International Airport has ignited debate about South Africa’s role as a key transit point for international drug syndicates.
Article: Caxton publication, The Citizen
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