SARS confiscates 271kg of cocaine

Pretoria - The South African Revenue Service (SARS) on Saturday confiscated 271kg of cocaine with a street value of R78 million at OR Tambo International Airport – one of the biggest cocaine busts ever.

“It marks the biggest ever cocaine bust by customs officials in South Africa,” said SARS in a statement.

The drugs were en route from Sao Paulo, Brazil to Nairobi, Kenya, and found in a cargo warehouse during routine operations.

“The specific shipment indicated as “cosmetics” on official documentation was identified for closer inspection through customs profiling techniques,” said SARS.

A physical inspection was conducted after narcotic detector dogs reacted positively to the cargo. SARS officials found hair products packed in boxes.

“A drug test on a number of randomly selected containers all gave an immediate positive reaction to cocaine. The 271 kg cocaine is valued at R78 million and was handed over to the police for further investigation,” said SARS. – SAnews.gov.za

R9.2m currency bust at OR Tambo Airport

Pretoria - Currency worth R9.2 million was found inside the luggage of a 60-year-old passenger at OR Tambo International Airport on Monday, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) said on Thursday.

“SARS Customs made a massive currency bust of 660 000 US dollars to the value of R9.2 million at OR Tambo International Airport on Monday,” said the revenue service.

The money was stashed in denominations of 20, 50 and 100 dollar bills in two cooler bags.

“Customs officers received information that the passenger, en route to Indonesia via Dubai, was in possession of undeclared currency. The passenger was formally charged with smuggling and failure to declare goods in contravention of the Customs and Excise Act. 

“A criminal case has been registered with the Department of Priority Crime Investigations (The Hawks),” said SARS.

Foreign currency threshold

The amount of foreign currency that South African residents may have in their possession when leaving the country is to the value of R160 000 per adult and R50 000 per child under the age of 12, per calendar year.

When taking currency out of the country, prior clearance from an authorised dealer on an official letterhead must be produced to customs.

Without such clearance only an amount equalling R25 000 is allowed per person. –SAnews.gov.za