Pretoria – South African Revenue Service (SARS) customs officers at OR Tambo International Airport have made significant busts over the past few months.
In the biggest bust so far this week, 125.4kg of liquid methamphetamine worth a street value of R37.6 million was discovered on Monday night.
A baggage handler pushing a trolley with nine unclaimed bags was asked to stop and have the bags scanned in the customs area. This led to the discovery of nine green canisters containing a liquid substance.
SARS said the reaction of a customs detector dog indicated the possibility of narcotics, which a subsequent drug test confirmed to be methamphetamine in a liquid form.
The liquid methamphetamine was handed over to the police’s organised crime unit for further investigation.
In another bust, custom officials confiscated 60 000 Viagra tablets with a street value of R6 million at the OR Tambo Airport Mail Centre. The tablets were imported without the requisite regulatory control and was therefore liable for seizure.
Also, a search of a backpack of a passenger in transit from Sao Paulo to Lagos resulted in the discovery of two foil wrapped containing a white substance.
A customs detector dog reaction indicated the possibility of narcotics and the substance tested positive for cocaine, which weighed 3.46kg with a total value of R993 020.
Over the weekend, during a patrol of the international cargo area, customs officers inspected boxes being loaded onto a bakkie. The inspection revealed 65 packages or 14kg of crystal meth with a street value of R4.2 million.
SARS said the case has been handed over to SAPS for further investigation.
On Sunday, during an inspection of cargo at the South African Airways (SAA) cargo shed, 27 cargo pieces from Hong Kong were inspected and found to have contained 2000 pairs of Nike sneakers and 1700 pairs of Timberland boots which were suspected of being counterfeit. The total value of the goods was R7.2 million.
On the same day, another shipment from Hong Kong was inspected at the SAA cargo shed and 220 Diesel jeans suspected to be counterfeit were discovered in three boxes. The jeans, valued at over R300 000 were handed over to the counterfeit Investigation team for further inspection.
On Saturday, customs officers performing an inspection at the SAA Cargo shed discovered 6000 pairs of Nike sneakers and 6200 pairs of converse sneakers which had arrived from Hong Kong. The shoes, valued at R7.25 million, were detained for further investigation.
On Friday, 1kg of heroin was discovered at the OR Tambo Mail Centre in two parcels destined from South Africa to Spain and Ireland respectively. The total value of the heroin was R201 810.
Also on Friday, another parcel was seized at the Mail Centre which contained 2kg of cannabis.
“These are major seizures by SARS Customs who conduct daily inspections at all ports of entry as part of its mandate to protect the borders of South Africa in an effort to foil the smuggling of prohibited goods.
“SARS continues to work with other law enforcement agencies to protect the country and its citizens by disrupting organised crime and reducing illicit trade activities,” said SARS. – SAnews.gov.za
