OR Tambo drug bust: R2m heroin seized, third mule arrested

Police arrested a 52-year-old South African man in a major OR Tambo International Airport drug bust on Sunday after allegedly finding suspected heroin worth more than R2 million in his luggage.

The arrest marks the third suspected drug mule caught at OR Tambo in just three weeks, as authorities intensify operations targeting international drug trafficking.

According to national police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Amanda van Wyk, SAPS officers, supported by the Border Management Authority (BMA), intercepted the man during an intelligence-led operation on Sunday, 20 September.

Police intercept passenger from Ghana

Van Wyk said the suspect had just arrived on a flight from Accra, Ghana, when police stopped him at the airport.

According to fficers searched his luggage and found bullet-like objects and blocks containing substances suspected to be heroin.

Police estimated the drugs’ street value at more than R2 million.

Authorities arrested the man and launched an investigation into the suspected drug trafficking operation.

Third drug mule caught in three weeks

Sunday’s arrest brings the number of suspected drug mules caught at OR Tambo International Airport to three in just three weeks.

Van Wyk said SAPS continues to intensify intelligence-led and targeted operations aimed at dismantling and disrupting drug trafficking syndicates operating through South Africa’s ports of entry.

The 52-year-old man is expected to appear in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court later this week on drug trafficking-related charges.