An Angolan national has been arrested at the Cape Town International Airport for dealing in drugs.
The 30-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday by members of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (known as Hawks).
The provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, Lieutenant Colonel Siyabulela Vukubi, said the passenger who disembarked in Cape Town was travelling from Brazil via Dubai.
“His arrest follows after the Hawks received information regarding a suspect that boarded a flight from overseas and heading to Cape Town. The information was operationalised and the suspect was spotted. Upon searching his luggage, he was found with cocaine hidden inside the three suitcases.
The Hawks' South African Narcotics Enforcement Bureau (SANEB) in conjunction with the Cape Town Border Police arrested a 30-year-old foreign national for dealing in drugs at the Cape Town International Airport,” Vukubi said.
The value of the cocaine brought into South Africa is still to be determined by authorities.
The Angolan national is expected to make his first court appearance on Friday in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court.
On December 2, around R80 million worth of cocaine was seized in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal police said.
The consignment of drugs was found in a container at the Durban Harbour.
Provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Robert Netshiunda, said the cocaine seized was still pure and the container left Brazil in November.
“Police received information about a vessel which left Brazil at the beginning of November and was carrying pure cocaine which was disguised as kidney beans,” Netshiunda said.
“The vessel, which came to South Africa via another country, was monitored until Saturday, November 30, 2024, when it docked at the Durban Harbour. The identified container was taken to a warehouse on South Coast Road in the Bluff area for a proper search,” he said.
The shipment was destined for Johannesburg, and to date, no arrests have been made.
IOL