A South African woman is expected to appear in court in Ethiopia today for drug trafficking.
The 29-year-old was arrested in Addis Ababa on Sunday after a team from Gauteng police counter-narcotics covert intelligence flagged her through South African Police Service (SAPS) Interpol on suspicion that she was travelling to Brazil to collect drugs and fly back to South Africa via several countries.
The woman indeed travelled to Brazil from OR Tambo International Airport during the first week of October.
According to the drug trafficker’s itinerary, she was supposed to travel from Brazil via Addis Ababa and then Sudan before landing back in South Africa.
Hot on her heels, the SAPS intelligence immediately notified the Ethiopian Federal Police about her movements.
On arrival at Addis Ababa on Sunday, she was flagged and when her luggage was checked, it was confirmed that she was carrying 13kg of cocaine estimated to be valued at R5.4- million.
She was immediately apprehended, charged with possession of illicit drugs, and is expected to appear in court today.
Joint collaboration commended
The national police commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, has commended the joint collaboration between Gauteng police counter-narcotics intelligence and the Ethiopian Federal Police after the trafficker’s arrest.
Masemola also applauded the determination and meticulous operationalisation of information by Gauteng police intelligence, SA Interpol, and the Ethiopian Federal Police.
“The cooperation between SAPS and the Ethiopian Federal Police must be commended. When African police organisations unite, more can and will be achieved,” he said.
“We are stamping the authority on a larger scale and sending out a clearer message that the long arm of the law will find you, no matter which route you utilise to try and traffic drugs into SA.
“We are intensifying our fight against transnational organised crime and the trafficking of drugs. SAPS intelligence is relentless in their pursuit to be one step ahead of criminals; this is commendable.”
Through Interpol SA, SAPS Gauteng counter-narcotics covert intelligence will work closely with the Ethiopian Federal Police to investigate the masterminds behind this consignment.
