A 52-year-old man has been caught with drugs worth R4 million by the South Africa Border Movement Control at O.R. Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg.
The man who will be brought before the Kempton Magistrate’s Court on Thursday was nabbed before he could board an Emirates flight to India via Dubai.
Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu said the suspected drug mule was arrested on Tuesday after police searched his bags and found the contraband stashed in secret compartments of his luggage.
The 52-year-old man has had previous run-ins with the law.
Last year the arrested suspect was found guilty of fraud and sentenced to five years imprisonment which was wholly suspended for five years on conditions that he was not found guilty of the same offence, said Captain Mulamu.
Police also linked the 52-year-old man to a similar drug bust at O.R. Tambo.
“The investigation team positively identified and linked the ex-offender with a similar incident that occurred in March 2020 at the same premises,” said Captain Mulamu.
When the police searched his bags which had been flagged by border control, they recovered 5,4 kilograms of “suspected heroin” inside a secret compartment of his luggage.
“The ‘heroin’ was concealed with black plastic bags with an estimated street value of R4 million,” said Captain Mulamu.
It remains to be seen if the suspect – who will be named when he appears in court – is going to be freed on bail.
