Growing scrutiny of drug-trafficking routes between Ghana and South Africa has intensified following the arrest of a 52-year-old South African man at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport with suspected heroin worth more than R2 million ($122,000).
The man was intercepted by members of the South African Police Service (SAPS), supported by the Border Management Authority, after arriving on a flight from Accra, according to media reports.
Police said a search of his luggage uncovered bullet-shaped objects and blocks containing substances suspected to be heroin. He is expected to appear before the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court later this week on drug-trafficking charges.
The arrest is the third involving a suspected drug mule at OR Tambo International Airport in the past three weeks, according to SAPS, highlighting continued concerns over the use of international air routes to move narcotics.
South African authorities said investigations were continuing to determine whether the suspect was linked to wider organised crime networks. SAPS also said the operation formed part of ongoing efforts to disrupt drug-trafficking syndicates through intelligence-led policing and targeted enforcement at ports of entry.
The development comes as Ghana faces renewed scrutiny over the movement of narcotics through its borders.
President John Dramani Mahama has given an inter-agency task force two weeks to develop measures aimed at preventing the trafficking of narcotic drugs through Ghana’s borders.
The directive followed a meeting between Mahama and the country’s security chiefs on Thursday, September 17, to review investigations into recent narcotics-trafficking cases involving Ghana’s ports.
According to a statement from the Presidency, the meeting examined existing security structures and systems and recommended additional measures to strengthen the detection and prevention of drug trafficking.
The task force is expected to review Ghana’s existing systems for detecting narcotics trafficking and submit a detailed roadmap to the President within two weeks.
The directive followed the seizure by French customs of a nearly 3.9-tonne consignment of cocaine at the port of Dunkirk on September 10. French authorities estimated the value of the cocaine at about €225 million.
The shipment was concealed in a container carrying plastic waste that had arrived from Ghana, with part of the consignment reportedly destined for Antwerp, Belgium.
The latest arrest in Johannesburg and the French cocaine seizure are likely to add to pressure on authorities to strengthen controls along international trafficking routes and improve cooperation between law-enforcement agencies in Ghana, South Africa and other transit and destination countries.
Authorities have not established publicly that the Johannesburg suspect is connected to the Dunkirk cocaine seizure or to any specific organised crime network. Investigations into both cases are ongoing.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
