Nigerian trafficking drug from Brazil arrested at S’Africa airport
A 55-year-old Nigerian has been arrested at the OR Tambo International Airport in South Africa for drug trafficking after arriving from São Paulo, Brazil.
According to The South African, a local news outlet in South Africa on Wednesday, the suspect was intercepted by police at the airport.
PUNCH Metro learnt that a medical X-ray later revealed that he had swallowed multiple drug bullets filled with cocaine.
Confirming the arrest, the Gauteng police spokesperson, Amanda van Wyk, stated, “The suspect, who is still releasing bullets, is expected to appear before the Kempton Park Magistrates’ Court this week.”
The report disclosed that law enforcement officials were closely monitoring his condition as they awaited the complete expulsion of the illicit substances.
During a strategic planning session on transnational organised crime in Pretoria, the National Police Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, addressed the growing trend of drug mule arrests at the OR Tambo International Airport.
“Since 2024, we have arrested about 20 drug mules at the OR Tambo International Airport,” Masemola revealed.
He also recalled a recent case where two South African nationals were caught with cocaine worth R7.5 million. In another incident in December 2024, the police arrested a Brazilian national carrying over 4 kg of cocaine in his luggage, while a separate drug mule was found to have swallowed 15 cocaine bullets.
Masemola further detailed the arrest of a 43-year-old Paraguayan drug mule that same month, stating, “She was taken to a local hospital where a medical X-ray revealed the presence of foreign objects in her stomach. A total of 33 drug bullets containing cocaine were subsequently released.”
PUNCH Metro learnt that those arrests were part of an intensified crackdown on international drug trafficking.
Beyond airport operations, South African authorities have also conducted major drug seizures at the ports. Masemola highlighted a recent intelligence-led operation at the Durban Harbour, which involved international collaboration over two months.
“The culmination of which was the recovery of cocaine hidden and transported in paint containers. The containers were from Brazil and destined for South Africa, where they would then be transported to Gauteng for distribution,” he explained.
