6 Indian Nationals Taken into Custody with R6m Worth of Medicines

Sunday, January 31, 2021 at 12:31 PM by Stefan Mack

- Six Indian national arrested in three separate sting operations have been taken into custody for allegedly trying to smuggle in medicine

- The suspects were in possession of hundreds of thousands of tablets which were approximately worth R6 million

- The suspects were arrested on three different days in a series of well-executed sting operations

PAY ATTENTION: Join Briefly News' Telegram channel! Never miss important updates!

A total of six Indian nationals were arrested at O.R Tambo airport while they were allegedly trying to smuggle in R6 million worth of Ivermectin and other medicines over the last week.

6 Indian nationals taken into custody with R6m worth of medicines — Unregistered medicines worth R6 million were confiscated and six Indian nationals arrested after a sting operation. Photo credit: @Abramjee
Source: Twitter

The suspects consist of two women and four men were taken in custody after the authorities executed three different sting operations at the airport.

It is believed that the medicines were intended for sale on the black market.

The arrests took place in three stages, on the 26th of January two men were arrested in possession of Ivermectin tablets to the value of R552 550.

Read also

Cape Town Residents Rebel Against Lockdown and Swarm Muizenberg Beach

The second series of arrests took place on the 27th of January one man was arrested with a number of unregistered medicines.

Finally, on the 28th, two women and one male were arrested in possession of R5 million worth of unregistered tablets.

"Three passengers from India have been arrested at @ortambo_int for possession of Ivermectin without @SAHPRA1 authorization. The men were found in possession of almost 200 000 tables: value of about R5m."

Here are some reactions from social media users to the arrests:

@Ckhola1745:

"We now going to have a Problem with India and its people think that they doing us a favour with vaccines. We buying the damn vaccines and we will not tolerate nonsense. We already have a problem with Chinese invading our Parliament."

@Levigos:

"Those foreign nationals have become a nuisance with unregistered tablets together with Pakistanis. @GovernmentZA should consider sanctioning travelling between these two countries for the remainder of the lockdown. SA is no longer the Gupta Republic, in case they forgotten."

Read also

Store manager arrested and fined as cops find alcohol in potato bags

Earlier, Briefly.co.za reported on sone medicine that is legally entering South Africa. The South African government has made an exciting announcement, the first delivery of one million Covid-19 vaccines.

The Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine will arrive at O.R Tambo on Monday 1 February after leaving from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai on Sunday.

South Africans are excited as the arrival of the vaccine ushers in the beginning of the end of the pandemic.

In other news, the South African strain of Covid-19 has also been found in the United States. The virus has killed over 400 000 people in America, the highest death toll in the world.

According to a report by The Guardian the Covid-19 variant that was initially found in South Africa has been identified for the first time in the US. These cases were found in South Carolina. However, these cases do not seem to be connected to each other.