A Pakistani man has been arrested at OR Tambo International Airport after he allegedly tried to smuggle R10 million in cash to Dubai, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) said on Wednesday.
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Spokesperson Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu said the 60-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday after a routine search was conducted at a departure check-in point.
Mulamu said authorities recovered US dollars to the equivalent of R10 million concealed in a foil inside the man’s luggage.
“The Durban based suspect was boarding Emirates flight to Dubai,” Mulamu said.
“He was arrested on the spot and charged with Contravention of Section 15 of the Customs and Excise Act and Contravention of Exchange Control Act, which states that a traveller should have a maximum of R25,000 in South African currency or R150,000 in foreign currency while travelling abroad.”
The Pakistani man is set to appear before the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
Mulamu said that the arrest for smuggling currency was the second in just two months.
In October, Madiha Rafiq was arrested at OR Tambo for the same offence. Rafiq is out on R40,000 bail. His case was postponed to February 2017 to allow for further investigations.
