A 30-year-old Namibian woman who the Gauteng SAPS took into custody at the OR Tambo International Airport after a tip off, has released more than capsules of cocaine from her stomach.
After releasing all the drugs from her body, the Namibian woman was moved to a detention facility and is expected to appear before the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) says a follow up medical examination, an X-ray, has confirmed that the Namibian woman who had ingested drug bullets before landing in South Africa has released all the contraband.
The alleged drug mule arrested on Sunday is the tenth drug mule to be arrested at the busy OR Tambo International Airport in Gauteng in the past two months.
In an update on Monday evening, national police spokesperson, Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said all drugs have been removed from the Namibian drug mule’s body.
“The drug mule has released 68 drug bullets from her body. The estimated weight of the drugs is 850 grammes. She has been moved to a detention facility and is expected to appear in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday on a charge of dealing in drugs and drug possession,” Mathe said.
She said additional charges may be added at a later stage.
On Sunday, Mathe said SAPS, the SA Revenue Service customs and immigration officials were following up on intelligence from SAPS of a drug mule that would land from Sao Paulo around 7am.
“The team immediately intercepted the drug mule as she was making her way through immigration. She was immediately arrested, taken to a local hospital where a medical X-ray confirmed and detected foreign objects in her stomach,” Mathe said.
At the time, she said the process to release the suspected drugs from her body was under way.
Meanwhile, national commissioner of SAPS, General Fannie Masemola has applauded the vigilance of the multi-disciplinary team working tirelessly to clampdown on criminality at the OR Tambo International Airport.
IOL