A drug courier attempting to enter South Africa with more than 60 cocaine-filled capsules in her stomach was arrested by local police.
On Monday, South African media outlets, including eNCA, reported that South African police had arrested a 30-year-old Namibian woman at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport the previous day for attempting to enter the country with drugs in her stomach.
She had arrived from São Paulo, Brazil, and was taken to a hospital by police for an X-ray scan, which revealed a large number of oval-shaped capsules inside her stomach.
Swallowing drugs and concealing them inside the body to cross borders is a method frequently employed by drug smuggling organizations.
South African Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe stated that based on intelligence, they were prepared and apprehended a drug courier immediately after she passed through immigration, recovering over 60 capsules filled with cocaine.
In the past two months, South African police have reportedly arrested 10 drug smugglers at OR Tambo International Airport, also confiscating drugs worth approximately 13 million ZAR (approx. 750,000 USD).