South African Revenue Service (SARS) customs officials on Saturday confiscated 271kg of cocaine with an estimated street value of R78 million at the Oliver Tambo International Airport.
“It marks the biggest ever cocaine bust by customs officials in South Africa,” SARS said in a statement.
The narcotics, en route from Sao Paulo in Brazil to Nairobi in Kenya, were found in a cargo warehouse during routine operations. The specific shipment indicated as “cosmetics” on official documentation was identified for closer inspection through customs profiling techniques.
“A physical inspection was conducted after narcotic detector dogs reacted positively to the cargo. Officials found hair products packed in boxes. A drug test on a number of randomly selected containers all gave an immediate positive reaction to cocaine. The 271kg cocaine is valued at R78 million and was handed over to the police for further investigation,” SARS said.
