National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola has commended the collaboration between the South African Police Service (SAPS) Gauteng Counter Narcotics Intelligence unit and the Ethiopian Federal Police after a South African female suspected to be a drug trafficker was arrested in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
A team from the SAPS Gauteng counter narcotics covert unit flagged a 29-year-old South African woman, through SAPS Interpol, on suspicion that the woman 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 via Sudan, and back to South Africa.
SAPS intelligence immediately notified the Ethiopian Federal Police about her movements.
“On arrival in Addis Ababa on Saturday, she was flagged and her luggage was checked, which confirmed that she was carrying 13kg of cocaine. She was immediately apprehended and is expected to be charged and appear in court in Ethiopia,” said a statement from the police.
Masemola applauded the determination and meticulous operationalisation of information by SAPS Gauteng intelligence, Interpol SA 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 by working together.
“We are stamping the authority of the State 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 to 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,” Masemola said.
The police said that through Interpol SA, SAPS Gauteng Counter Narcotics Covert Intelligence will work closely with the Ethiopian Federal Police to investigate the masterminds behind the consignment.
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