Customs officials from the South African Revenue Service (SARS), working at OR Tambo International Airport (ORTIA), caught a passenger with approximately 8.5 kg of cocaine on Wednesday.
The drugs have a street value of R2.5-million.
The passenger was travelling to Lagos in Nigeria when he was caught.
The bust was triggered by SARS’ scanning equipment.
It identified opaque images in handbags found in the checked-in bags of the passenger.
The man and two of his checked-in bags were intercepted and taken to Customs for a mandatory inspection and for the luggage to be re-scanned.
The passenger was then taken to the common search area where a further inspection of the bags was conducted.
In one of the bags, four ladies’ handbags were found, each containing eleven packages wrapped in brown tape, containing a cream-coloured powder.
A drug test confirmed that the substance was cocaine.
“This is the second Customs cocaine bust at ORTIA in a week. In both cases, the illegal narcotics were identified through the scanning of luggage.
“SARS will continue to increase its capacity to tackle smuggling of illegal goods and substances through our borders by means of significant investment in advanced technology,” said Mr Sandile Memela, the SARS spokesperson.
In terms of legal procedure, the passenger and the detained narcotics were handed over to the SAPS for further investigation and possible arrest.
WATCH: The Edenvale SAPS bust a Crystal Meth Lab in Dowerglen earlier this year.
