South Africa seizes 250 kilos of heroin in truck entering from Mozambique

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South Africa seizes 250 kilos of heroin in truck entering from Mozambique

3:04 CAT | 17 Jul 2023

Photo: Twitter / @AthlendaM

A 49-year-old Eswatini national was arrested on Sunday while entering north-eastern South Africa from Mozambique with around 250 kilograms of heroin destined for the international market, the South African police announced this Monday.

The drugs, worth R75 million (€3.7 million), were seized in the South African province of Mpumalanga, which borders Mozambique.

In a statement, the South African Police Services (SAPS) Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the ‘Hawks’), said that the drugs were hidden in a concealed compartment of a truck stopped in Mpumalanga on Sunday night.

The Hawks’ South African Narcotic Bureau (SANEB) received information from White River K9 about a truck that could possibly be ferrying illegal drugs. “With the assistance of Elukwatini Local Criminal Record Centre, Elukwatini Fire Department and SAPS Badplaas pulled over the truck identified and it was escorted to the station,” a communiqué details.

“The fire department assisted with the opening of the concealed compartment, where 250 1kg heroin bricks with an estimated street value of R75 million were discovered,” it said.

“The drugs were destined for the international market and entered the country via Mozambique,” the South African police add.

The South African police declined to disclose the identity of the suspect, indicating only that “the 49-year-old suspect will appear in the Carolina Magistrate’s Court on 19 July on charges of possession of illegal drugs with intent to distribute”, but Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale did reveal that a 49-year-old Eswatini national has been arrested.

The security force also indicated that “an investigation is also underway to determine how the truck managed to enter South Africa without being thoroughly checked at the border”.

According to the South African security authorities, the seizure of the drug resulted from a joint operation within the scope of the Trilateral Planning Cell (TPC) ,”comprising the ministries responsible for policing in the republics of South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania, to counter heroin trafficking through the Southern Route”.

The HAWKS have seized heroine worth R75 million during a drug bust in MP. The heroine was found in a truck that entered the country from Mozambique. A 49 year old Eswatini national has been arrested. The suspect will appear before the Carolina Magistrate’s Court Wednesday pic.twitter.com/g9n6gBVq3D

— Athlenda Mathe (@AthlendaM) July 17, 2023