South Africa Seizes Large Quantity of Cocaine from Refrigerated Containers

South African authorities are reporting a large cocaine seizure that was part of an international operation they named Irene. They said the effort was a demonstration of the cross-border cooperation and that it was a major victory against international drug trafficking.

Working with their counterparts in Brazil, the South African Revenue Services (SARS) reports the intelligence-driven operation had targeted suspect containers bound for Durban. A Customs Marine Patrol boat intercepted the unidentified cargo ship while it was in the outer anchorage approximately four nautical miles east of Durban. They escorted the vessel to its berth in the port.

Once docked, customs enforcement officers boarded the ship and began a search. They located a number of containers that had been flagged during the intelligence phase as posing a risk for smuggling.

The containers were searched, and they discovered a total of 25 large bricks hidden in the refrigeration units of the containers. A field test confirmed the presence of cocaine, and it was handed over to the South African Police Service for further investigation and prosecution.

Edward Kieswetter, SARS Commissioner, commended the officers for their efforts. He commented that “this success points to the success of collaboration with our counterparts from Brazil. It is such collaboration that communicates concrete cooperation within BRICS countries that deals a heavy blow against organized crime syndicates. This achievement also signals that the efforts by all law enforcement agencies in our county are taking on the challenge of protecting our borders.”

The police gave the seizure an estimated value of $3.2 million. They further reported that the cocaine was of a very high quality suitable for further dilution. They expected that it would have been expanded into larger volumes for distribution.