Cape Town - Sars Customs officers at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg have intercepted large drug hauls coming into the country, as part of its intensive crackdown over the past few months, it said on Tuesday.
In the biggest bust this week, a baggage containing 125,4kg of liquid methamphetamine was seized on Monday night, said SA Revenue Services spokesperson Luther Lebelo.
It was worth R37,6 million.
A baggage handler pushing a trolley with nine unclaimed bags was asked to stop and the bags were scanned in the Customs area.
This led to the discovery of nine green canisters containing a liquid substance.
A Sars Customs detector dog reacted, indicating the the possibility of narcotics, which a subsequent drug test confirmed to be methamphetamine in a liquid form.
The liquid methamphetamine was handed over to the SA Police Service’s organised crime unit for further investigation.
Liquid methamphetamine is meth soaked in acetone or gasoline. The chemical process used in drug labs or by users themselves involves heating this liquid mixture until it crystallises. This crystal is known as Crystal methamphetamine.
In another bust at OR Tambo International airport on Monday, 60 000 viagra tablets, with a street value of R6 million, were confiscated.
It had arrived at the Mail Centre without the requisite regulatory control and was therefore liable for seizure, according to Lebelo.
Cocaine worth almost R1 million was also confiscated on Monday when a passenger in transit from Sao Paulo to Lagos was searched.
Two foil wrapped parcels containing 3.46 kilograms of cocaine, worth about R993 000 on the street, were found in his backpack.
Sars customs also confiscated 65 packages of crystal meth that were being loaded onto a bakkie at the international cargo area on Sunday. It weighed 14 kgs and had a street value of R4,2 million.
Also on Sunday, during an inspection of cargo at the SAA cargo shed, 27 cargo pieces from Hong Kong were inspected and found to contain 2000 pairs of Nike sneakers and 1700 pairs of Timberland boots which were suspected of being counterfeit. The total value of the goods was R7.2 million.
Another shipment from Hong Kong was inspected at the SAA cargo shed on the same day and 220 Diesel jeans, suspected to be counterfeit, were discovered in three boxes. The jeans, valued at over R300 000, were also handed over to the Counterfeit Investigation team for further inspection.
On Saturday, Customs officers performing an inspection at SAA Cargo shed discovered 6 000 pairs of Nike sneakers and 6 200 pairs of Converse sneakers which had arrived from Hong Kong. The shoes, valued at R7.25million, were seized for further analysis.
And on Friday last week, 1kg of heroin was discovered at the ORTIA Mail Centre in two parcels destined for Spain and Ireland respectively. The total value of the heroin was R201 810. On the same day, another parcel was seized at the Mail Centre which contained 2kg of Cannabis.
“These are major seizures by Sars Customs who implement daily inspections at all ports of entry, as part of its mandate to protect the borders of South Africa, in an effort to foil the smuggling of prohibited goods.” said Lebelo
He said Sars, “continues to work with other law enforcement agencies to protect the country and its citizens by disrupting organised crime and reducing illicit trade activities.”
ANA