A major intelligence operation has led to R151 million worth of cocaine being seized at the Durban harbour.
Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, an SAPS spokesperson, said this comes as police officers at the Durban Harbour continue to clamp down on the trafficking of drugs into South Africa.
“These men and women in blue are determined to disrupt and dislodge the work of international organised crime syndicates involved in the drug trade,” she said.
In the latest drug bust, officers seized cocaine worth R151 million on Monday.
“Members were following up on intelligence and monitored a container that was on a vessel from Brazil. A multidisciplinary team inspected the container at a cold storage facility and found 433 blocks of cocaine disguised in meat boxes.
“No arrests have been made and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) has taken over the investigation. This is the third massive drug bust in two months at this harbour. In October, the same team seized cocaine worth R150 million,” she said.
Meanwhile, General Fannie Masemola, the National Commissioner of the SAPS, met with the Police Chief of the Brazilian Federal Police, Andrei Passos Rodrigues, on the sidelines of the Interpol Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Vienna this past week.
“General Masemola discussed the influx of drugs into SA from their ports. A decision was made to enhance the level of cooperation which has already seen great successes in the sharing of information on drugs and other criminal activities as well as countering international crime syndicates,” said Mathe.