A 29-year-old South African woman was recently caught in Ethiopia with a whopping 13 kilograms of cocaine valued at R5.4 million. This was a joint operation between the South African Police Service’s Gauteng counter-narcotics intelligence and the Ethiopian Federal Police in Addis Ababa .
Apparently, the woman’s itinerary raised some red flags, and SAPS intelligence flagged her through Interpol, suspecting she was on a mission to collect drugs in Brazil and bring them back to South Africa via several countries. She had traveled to Brazil from OR Tambo International Airport just the week before.
Upon arrival in Addis Ababa on Saturday, her luggage was inspected, and that’s when the 13 kilograms of cocaine were discovered. She was immediately apprehended and is expected to face charges in an Ethiopian court.
National police commissioner General Fanie Masemola praised the collaboration between SA Interpol and the Ethiopian police, emphasising the importance of African police organisations working together to combat transnational organised crime and drug trafficking. This arrest is definitely a significant win in the fight against drug trafficking!
