Police seize drugs worth R2.8m at OR Tambo International Airport

Gauteng police have seized drugs at OR Tambo International Airport with a street value of R2.8 million.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said officers at OR Tambo International made the drug bust.

Drug busts

“During routine day-to-day operations, police made the first discovery of crystal meth worth R2.2 million at a cargo warehouse on Wednesday, 4 March. The meth was destined for the Philippines from South Africa.

“The second drug bust was made at another cargo warehouse where eight large boxes containing dagga worth R672 000 was discovered on Thursday, 5 March. The dagga was shipped from Morocco and was destined for South Africa,” Mathe said.

Mathe added that the drugs have been seized, and investigations are underway to track down the traffickers of the narcotics.

However, Cannaflex, the company that exported the cannabis to South Africa, claims that the shipment was fully authorised and legal. It said the 150kg of medical cannabis flower powder (Beldia variety) was intended for medicinal research and pharmaceutical good manufacturing practice processing in the country.

“The characterisation of this shipment as ‘trafficking’ is a profound misinterpretation of a standard, regulated pharmaceutical transit,” said Rudy, the managing partner of Cannaflex. “This operation was conducted in strict accordance with international narcotics control protocols and the domestic laws of both the Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of South Africa.”

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Drug trafficker

Last year, Gauteng police arrested a 25-year-old drug trafficker at OR Tambo airport in possession of cocaine with a street value of R4.2 million.

The woman was handcuffed on arrival from São Paulo (Brazil), via Doha (Qatar), at Johannesburg’s busiest airport.

Mathe said an intelligence operative team comprising Crime Intelligence Counter Narcotics Intel Gauteng, the South African Police Service Tactical Team at OR Tambo International Airport, the Tactical Team, the Border Management Authority and private security successfully identified and intercepted the Brazilian national shortly after landing.

“A search of the trafficker’s luggage led police to uncover about 10kg of cocaine with an estimated value of R4.2 million.”

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Drug mules

The recent spate of drug mule arrests at OR Tambo International Airport reignited debate about South Africa’s role as a key transit point for international drug syndicates.

In December 2024, Institute for Security Studies crime expert Willem Els said drug trafficking is one of the most visible transnational organised crimes perpetrated by international organised criminal groups.

“The organised crime syndicates facilitating these activities are feeding off each other. If one syndicate moves in, others follow, creating a criminal environment.”

OR Tambo

Els outlined how South Africa, and specifically OR Tambo International Airport, had become a key transit point for cocaine, particularly on its only direct flight from São Paulo to Johannesburg.

Elso said this route explains why more individuals arrested come from South America and Brazil, specifically, adding that it’s lucrative and has been exploited for a long time by drug couriers.

ALSO READ: Gauteng man arrested for transporting crystal meth worth R50m