785kg of crystal meth were prevented from leaving South Africa by SARS customs agents stationed at OR Tambo International Airport.
SARS said that the shipment was headed for Australia in a statement that was made public on Sunday, August 28. The item within the box was identified as a “Multi-Purpose Anti-Slip Mat.” Physical examination revealed that it was hiding R236 million worth of street value crystal meth.
Following the discovery and seizure of the narcotics, the case was turned over to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (Hawks). The Hawks will look into the situation more thoroughly.
The customs officials were praised by SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter for preventing the crystal meth from exiting South Africa. He also issued a warning to organized criminal groups that exploit the nation’s ports of entrance and departure to accomplish these crimes.
“I want to issue a strong warning to the organized crime groups exploiting our ports of entrance and departure to perpetrate this kind of crime, informing them that our police are on high alert and making every effort to put a stop to such criminality. We are all able to give a fatal blow to these unlawful operations because to the great coordination with other law enforcement organizations at these ports, said Kieswetter.
Meanwhile, it was stated that during a sting operation in Delmas, Mpumalanga, undocumented people who were selling narcotics while posing as street vendors were detained.
A sting operation was carried out in Delmas on August 26 by multi-disciplinary stakeholders, according to police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala. These stakeholders included members of the SAPS from Delmas (Visible Policing and Detectives), SAPS members from the District office, Department of Home Affairs (Immigration officers), and AAA Security Company.
Great accomplishments were achieved throughout the operation, which was mostly conducted in Sarel Celliers in Delmas and Botleng. According to Mohlala, one of the achievements was the arrest of five individuals for cocaine possession who ranged in age from 22 to 33.