A South American national was arrested at OR Tambo airport on Friday after concealing 33 bullets in her stomach.
International drug smugglers appear to be increasingly targeting OR Tambo International Airport with yet another significant drug bust having been made at the bustling airport this weekend.
On Friday, police foiled a Paraguayan drug mule’s daring attempt to slip past authorities with 33 drug bullets of cocaine in her stomach
Another drug mule arrest at OR Tambo
Police said the arrest, part of ongoing efforts to address the scourge of drug trafficking into South Africa, was effected moments after the 43-year-old female landed from São Paulo on Friday, 6 December.
According to police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Amanda van Wyk, the suspected drug mule was taken to a nearby hospital where a medical X-ray revealed the presence of foreign objects found to be drug bullets in her stomach.
A total of 33 drug bullets containing cocaine were subsequently released by the Paraguayan drug trafficker.
Growing number of drug trafficking arrests at OR Tambo
The latest arrest marks the fourth drug trafficker intercepted at the airport in the short span of two weeks.
On 24 November, a 25-year-old Brazilian man was arrested after he was found with more than three kilograms of cocaine wrapped around his torso.
Van Wyk previously revealed that police have arrested 14 suspects on charges of drug trafficking at the OR Tambo airport in recent months.
In October, three people, including two Dutch traffickers, were found with 80kg of Khat.
In another arrest, a 43-year-old from Paraguay was nabbed after landing from São Paulo.
The man had to be rushed to hospital after suffering a health complication due to the drug bullets that he ingested. He subsequently released around 20 of the cocaine-filled bullets.
In August, the Hawks arrested an alleged drug mule from Motherwell in Nelson Mandela Bay in possession of 10 kilograms of cocaine concealed in sweets in her luggage.
