A 30-year-old Namibian woman was arrested at OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, South Africa, after landing with suspected cocaine in her body.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) reported that this arrest, made on Sunday, September 22, 2024, marks the tenth drug mule apprehended at the busy Gauteng airport in the last two months.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe stated that SAPS, along with customs and immigration officials from the South African Revenue Service, acted on intelligence regarding a drug mule arriving from Sao Paulo, Brazil, around 7 a.m.
“The team intercepted the suspect as she was going through immigration. She was immediately arrested and taken to a local hospital, where a medical X-ray confirmed the presence of foreign objects in her stomach,” Mathe explained.
By Sunday evening, efforts were underway to extract the suspected drugs from her body.
“She has already expelled more than 60 packets of suspected cocaine,” Mathe noted. “She remains under police guard and in custody.”
The total value of the drugs has not yet been determined, as the extraction process may take some time.
In the meantime, SAPS National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola commended the multi-disciplinary team for their vigilance in combating crime at OR Tambo International Airport.
“Our men and women in blue are hard at work intercepting hardened criminals. South Africa is not a playground for criminals and transnational organised crime. We are squeezing the space for criminals and leaving nothing to chance,” Masemola stated.
