Drugs worth €31.6 thousand ($36 thousand) were discovered in two printer cartridges destined for Madagascar.
The drugs were part of a €6 million ($6.9 million) discovery made by South African Customs officials, aided by detector dogs, on Tuesday at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.
Among the items, which were destined for foreign markets, was rhino horn believed to be worth over R115 million (€6 million/ $6.9 milion). The items had been declared as “fine art”.
The drugs were identified as ephedrine and with an estimated value of R600,000 (€31.6 thousand/ $36 thousand) and were destined for Madagascar.
SARS commissioner Edward Kieswetter welcomed the discovery of the illicit goods. “Criminal and illicit economic activities are rife and result in billions of Rands of losses in tax and customs revenue to the fiscus. In addition, it does serious harm to our domestic economy,” he said.
