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Britons arrested in £50m South African drugs bust
15 Sep 2009Ian Evans in Cape Town
Three Britons have been arrested in South Africa in what is thought to be the country's biggest ever drug bust.
A fourth British man was arrested in London and two South Africans taken into custody after the seizure of almost three tons of hashish and heroin in Durban worth an estimated R600m (£48m).
Police said one of the Britons arrested in the coastal city was seized at La Lucia Mall in the north of Durban while attempting to leave the country. Detectives found R180,000 (£15,000) in cash, drugs and a plane tickets in his car. The other two British men are said to be brothers.
The South African Police Service said the drugs had been packed in blocks, sealed in brown wrapping and hidden in truck battery casings at two separate locations in Durban before being sent to the UK.
Superintendent Deven Naicker who is head of narcotics in the organised crime unit, said their investigations had started last Wednesday. He said the drug trafficking operation saw narcotics shipped between Durban and the UK.
He told the Star newspaper: “The drugs were being shipped as cargo for a false truck battery company and were transported to a UK company ostensibly selling truck batteries.”
The six-strong gang used battery casings and prisms to store the drugs. Metal casings were used to make detection more difficult.
Supt Naicker said the street value of a 5kg block of hashish was R40,000 (£3,200) and one gram of the drug sold for about R80 (£6)
He added: “This is an international case and we will carry out more investigations into the matter.”
Police director Phindile Radebe said the Britons are due to appear in court tomorrow(wed) and police would not name them until then. The two South Africans appeared in court yesterday(mon). She said the drugs bust was probably South Africa's biggest.
In January Durban police seized a “significant” amount of cash found in a car inside a container at the port. Officers believe the money was from cash heists in London because some of the notes still had purple dye on them.
Police in Durban had been tipped off by detectives in London about the car which also contained a gun hidden in the vehicle.
