A 52-year-old South African man has been arrested at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg after police allegedly found suspected heroin worth more than R2 million (roughly $110,000) in his luggage, South African police said, in a case that puts renewed scrutiny on the Accra–Johannesburg air corridor.
According to a statement from South African Police Service spokesperson Amanda van Wyk, carried by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), the suspect had just landed on a flight from Accra when officers intercepted him during what police described as an “intelligence-led operation” early Sunday. A search of his luggage allegedly turned up bullet-shaped objects and blocks containing a substance suspected to be heroin. Laboratory confirmation of the substance’s identity has not yet been reported.
Police say the arrest is the third involving a suspected drug mule at OR Tambo in the past three weeks, according to van Wyk — a pattern that, if confirmed by further data, would suggest heightened trafficking activity along this route rather than an isolated incident. SAPS has not disclosed the nationalities or flight origins of the other two suspects, so it is not yet established whether those cases also involved travel from Ghana or elsewhere.
The suspect is due to appear before the Kempton Park Magistrates’ Court this week on drug-trafficking-related charges. As with any pending case, the charges represent allegations that will be tested in court; no plea or verdict has been reported.
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