Smuggled goods ranging from rhino horn to hardcore drugs totalling more than R2 billion in high-profile cases, mainly through the country’s airports, has been confiscated by the SA Revenue Service (Sars).
The staggering amount was revealed in a statement released by Sars yesterday detailing figures of illicit flow in and out of the country from April last year to last month.
While the announcement is worthy of congratulation, it is not worth celebrating, according to Eric Pelser, head of the Trans-National Organised Crime in Africa programme at the Institute of Security Studies.
“What the figures (of the busts) don’t tell you is the size of the market and the increasing size of the flow (of illegal goods),” he said, referring to how heroin busts alone had increased exponentially over the past 20 years.
This week, the Hawks started a new tally for KwaZulu-Natal when they raided a Bluff container depot, seizing counterfeit clothing.
King Shaka International Airport featured in the Sars report for a currency smuggling bust, of which more than R6million was being taken out in South African and US banknotes, headed for Dubai.
Other busts in KwaZulu-Natal, a year since the end of March, saw the additional seizures worth more than R27m in illegal cigarettes, drugs, endangered wildlife products, gold and counterfeit clothing products.
Referring to the recent Bluff depot busts - the most recent having been on Thursday - Hawks spokesperson Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo said authorities knew who the suspects were.
“They will be summoned to appear in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court once due processes are finalised,” he said.
The biggest of the revenue service’s 46 busts took place on March 1 and 2, with the discovery of uncut crystal methamphetamine (tik) with an estimated value of R30m stashed in fridges on a truck which arrived in Cape Town from Joburg.
“In the same truck, a large amount of suspected counterfeit clothing was also discovered,” the statement read.
“The truck driver was arrested.”
The revenue service listed other highlights of illegal goods found arriving in South Africa, leaving the country, as well as passing through as a conduit.
The highest number of busts were for currency smuggling- six, involving more than R57m - while three cases of cocaine smuggling involved contraband with the highest value - more than R73m.
Other highlights were:
Rhino horn with an estimated value of R5.75m en route from South Africa to Hong Kong, at OR Tambo International Airport.
Cocaine with an estimated value of R56.6m en route from Brazil to Australia via South Africa at OR Tambo International Airport.
Cocaine with an estimated value of R10m en route from Brazil to Namibia via South Africa, at OR Tambo International Airport.
Cocaine with an estimated value of R7.48m en route from Brazil to Congo via South Africa seized at OR Tambo International Airport.
Crystal meth with an estimated value of R7.2m from Nigeria to South Africa at OR Tambo International Airport.
Rhino horn with an estimated value of R4.6m en route from Zambia to Hong Kong via South Africa at OR Tambo International Airport.
Currency (US dollars) valued R6.7m en route from South Africa to Dubai at OR Tambo International Airport.
Ecstasy with an estimated value of R33.6m en route from Cameroon via Kenya to South Africa at OR Tambo International Airport.
Currency (US dollars) valued R10.3m en route from South Africa to Canada at OR Tambo International Airport.
Currency (US dollars) valued R10m en route from Angola to South Africa at OR Tambo International Airport.
Sexual enhancement tablets valued R5.26m en route from India via Seychelles to South Africa at OR Tambo International Airport.
Currency (rand and US dollars) valued R10.3m en route from South Africa to Dubai at Cape Town International Airport.
Crystal meth with an estimated value of R6.2m en route within South Africa at OR Tambo International Airport.
Abalone with an estimated value of R10m en route from South Africa to China at Port Elizabeth harbour.
Kamagra (generic Viagra) valued at R4m en route from India to South Africa at OR Tambo International Airport.
Ephedrine with an estimated value of R17.2m en route from Kenya to South Africa at OR Tambo International Airport.
Currency (US dollars and British pound sterling) valued at R15m en route from South Africa to Dubai at OR Tambo International Airport.
Viagra valued at R9m en route from Dubai to South Africa at OR Tambo International Airport.
Crystal meth with an estimated value of R8.35m en route from Rwanda to South Africa, at OR Tambo International Airport.
Ephedrine with an estimated value of R17.2m en route from Kenya to South Africa at OR Tambo International Airport.
Other recent busts by the Sars include 108kg of drugs, which were hidden in boxes and declared as “calcium carbonate”.
“Officials inspected the boxes in the cargo section at the OR Tambo International Airport after they arrived from Kenya on Tuesday,” the revenue service said.
“They discovered a white powdery substance and a brown sand-like substance, which they sent to a private laboratory for testing.
“The results came back positive for the drug ketamine (the white powdery substance) and Acetylanthranil, a base ingredient for methaqualone (mandrax).
“The case has been handed over to the Hawks for further investigation.”
On Thursday, the revenue service found 6000kg of cannabis, worth more than R9m, at the border crossing from Lesotho at Ficksburg in the Free State.
“The driver was taken into police custody,” the statement read.
According to the chief officer for Customs and Excise, Teboho Mokoena, the seizure of counterfeit clothing, footwear and other goods made up the biggest contribution, amounting to R1.8bn.
Next was drugs, including tik, cocaine and other drugs, amounting to over R326m.