SA drug mule bound for Tokyo nabbed at OR Tambo Airport
· Citizen
A 23‑year‑old South African woman was intercepted at OR Tambo International Airport after X‑rays revealed she had swallowed dozens of drug‑filled capsules, halting her attempt to traffic the narcotics abroad.
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The South African Police Service (Saps) intercepted the woman at the country’s busiest airport on Friday, 26 June 2026.
Tokyo
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Vincent Mukhathi said the woman was en route to Tokyo.
“The suspect was identified by Border Police following the receipt of operational information. She was taken for medical examination, where X-rays confirmed the presence of suspected drug-filled capsules inside her body.
“Preliminary investigations indicate that the suspect travelled on a domestic route before attempting to continue her journey on an international flight. She was intercepted upon her return to OR Tambo International Airport before boarding a direct flight to Tokyo,” Mukhathi said.
Drug capsules
Mukhathi added that at the time of her arrest, the woman had released 28 suspected drug-filled capsules.
“The process is ongoing under strict medical supervision, and the recovered exhibits have been booked into the Saps exhibit management system for forensic analysis. The street value and exact type of the suspected narcotics will be determined once forensic testing has been completed.”
Picture: SapsCourt
Mukhathi said the suspect remains in police custody and is expected to appear before the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 29 June 2026, on charges relating to dealing in drugs.
Saps said it remains committed to disrupting transnational drug trafficking networks and preventing illicit substances from entering or leaving South Africa through its ports of entry.
KZN drug bust
Earlier this month, the fight against transnational drug syndicates scored a major victory when Hawks investigators and Customs officials seized 90 kilograms of suspected cocaine worth R36 million in KwaZulu‑Natal (KZN).
Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said SANEB members attached to Durban SOCI were alerted by a Customs official to suspected cocaine concealed inside an excavator that had arrived at the Q and R Car Terminal aboard the vessel Neptune Ace Tokyo from Santos, Brazil.
While the first scene was being processed, Customs officials reported a second concealment in another excavator that had already been offloaded from the vessel.