Cape Town - South African Revenue Service (Sars) customs officials at Cape Town International Airport have confiscated $156 850 (about R1 946 802) hidden in the luggage of a South African man en route to Dubai, Sars said on Saturday.
After receiving a tip-off from customs officials at OR Tambo International Airport (ORTIA) in Johannesburg, the man was stopped by customs officials and members of the detector dog unit as he was about to embark on the flight to Dubai, Sars said in a statement.
One of the detector dogs reacted positively to the luggage and the bag was opened up and searched. Customs officials then discovered 10 packets of currency hidden among his clothing. The case, for failure to declare money when departing the country, was handed over to the South African Police Service (SAPS) for further investigation.
“As part of our integrated operations, the possible smuggling of currency was successfully detected by our officers,” customs and excise chief officer Teboho Mokoena said in the statement.
“We have noticed recently that passengers who normally use ORTIA to try and take out currency have started rerouting via other ports. This is why it is important that all of our units work closely together to prevent this from happening. I would like to commend the co-operation among the different divisions within customs which led to this successful bust,” Mokoena said.