/ 31 August 2009

Police seize cocaine worth R20m at OR Tambo

A cocaine consignment destined for the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique was seized at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, police said on Monday.

Senior Superintendent Vishnu Naidoo said the drugs, with an estimated street value of R20-million, were smuggled from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

”They were concealed in cutlery and ladies’ handbags.

”They were hidden inside the boxes and in between two layers of material in the handbags.”

Naidoo said the drugs were found on Sunday afternoon, and no arrests had yet been made.

On Friday customs officials seized 25kg of pure heroin, with a street price estimated at R25-million, at OR Tambo International Airport.

The narcotics had been declared as a ”green coffee extract” and arrived on a cargo flight from India for local consumption.

On Saturday Mandrax of R200-million was seized after police raided a Midrand home.

Equipment, worth R2-million, used to manufacture the drugs was also found.

The owner of the house was arrested.

Two people were arrested in the Free State on Saturday when a police dog helped to nab two drug dealers after it sniffed out a bag of dagga buried in the ground.

A man (28) and woman (21) were arrested.

The confiscated dagga, which weighed 5,586kg, was estimated to carry a street value of R7 429. — Sapa