15 October 2014
A consignment of crystal meth (known as tik in local slang) weighing 200kg has been seized at South Africa’s OR Tambo International Airport.
In a statement on Tuesday, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) said its customs team at the airport made the discovery when they identified two separate consignments that had arrived in Johannesburg from Benin for further checks. The find was the biggest ever seizure of tik by SARS.
“This was as a result of an increase in attempted drug shipments from Benin. The shipments had been declared as containing prop shafts. As the team began the examinations, their narcotics detector dogs Angel and Bastian reacted positively,’ said SARS.
On further investigation and with the use of an angle grinder, a sugar-like substance was found concealed inside the prop shafts.
The substance was confirmed as tik, with a value of over R59-million ($5.3-million). The drugs have been handed over to the South African Police Service for further investigation.
In June this year, South African police confiscated some 10 tons of heroin worth over R3-billion (US$280-million) in Kloof, in KwaZulu-Natal, in the country’s biggest drug bust to date.
Source: SAnews.gov
