A female individual detained at one of South Africa’s most crowded airports has been accused of being a “drug courier” after X-rays uncovered numerous pellets of what authorities suspect to be cocaine within her stomach.
The unidentified 30-year-old woman from Namibia was apprehended at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport following a tip-off to the police indicating she was allegedly attempting to smuggle narcotics on a flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Officers intercepted her on Sunday while she navigated through the airport.
The pellets recovered from the woman’s body. Pic: Reuters
This marks the tenth alleged drug trafficker arrested at this airport within the past two months, according to authorities, who noted that just last week a Nigerian individual was also apprehended under similar suspicions.
Following her detention, the woman was transported to a nearby hospital where an X-ray revealed items that appeared to have been ingested.
Under police supervision, she “discharged” 68 “pellets” of suspected cocaine, accumulating to approximately 850g, according to the South African police.
“Our officers are diligently working to apprehend hardened offenders. South Africa will not serve as a playground for criminals or transnational organized crime. We are constricting the space for wrongdoers and leaving nothing to chance,” stated General Fannie Masemola, national commissioner of the South African police service.
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The woman is scheduled to appear in court on September 25, facing charges of drug trafficking and possession of narcotics.
