Cocaine worth R500 million disguised as truck parts seized at Durban harbor

• At least 999 bricks of cocaine with an estimated street value of R500 million were seized at the Durban harbour at the end of July.
• The Hawks said at least two tons of drugs were seized since March.
• Investigators are still looking for a foreign national believed to be the mastermind behind the drug trafficking.

The Hawks seized a consignment of cocaine worth R500 million from a container at the Durban harbour last month.

Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said the massive amount of cocaine was found in a shipping container carrying truck parts destined for Scania South Africa, a truck sales company.

Mogale said initial investigations revealed that the consignment would have been a “rip on, rip off” process in which the cocaine would be removed from the container clandestinely and the container seal immediately replaced.

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