SAPS arrest suspected Paraguayan drug mule at OR Tambo Airport who swallowed 20 cocaine bullets

• The South African Police Service in Gauteng arrested a Paraguayan national for allegedly smuggling drugs into the country
• The alleged drug mule was busted at the OR Tambo International Airport by a collective effort between SAPS, SARS, and the Border Management Authority
• The suspect allegedly swallowed 20 bullets stuffed with cocaine, and South Africans celebrated the bust

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered police investigations, police shootouts, and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years.

OR TAMBO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT — The South African Police Service arrested a suspected Paraguayan drug mule at the OR Tambo International Airport on 6 October 2024.

SAPS arrest drug mule

The mule was arrested at the OR Tambo Airport as part of a joint effort between the SAPs, the South African Revenue Service, and the Border Management Authority. The stakeholders discovered that this is the drug mules' modus operandi.

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21-year-old drug mule expels 110 bullets, doctor warns against ingesting drugs for smuggling

Other drug mules were also arrested over the past three weeks. The Paraguayan's arrest was the 14th arrest in two weeks. This also included the arrest of a South African woman who swallowed 110 bullets containing cocaine.

SAPS also arrested a Brazilian foreign national who was found with cocaine worth over R1 million in July. He was travelling from Sao Paulo, and the drug parcel was found strapped to his body, leading to the arrest.

SA reacts to the arrest

Below are some of the reactions from South Africans on Facebook.

Jan Titi said:

"I hope he won't get bail and run away."

Curtis Edward said:

"Folks are now working in every department. They have been sleeping and getting paid for a very long time."

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21-Year-old arrested at OR Tambo International Airport, woman found smuggling drugs in her stomach

Bonolo More said:

"There hasn't been an update of what the street value of the previously swallowed bullets is, so are the names of the people who recruited these mules."

Melville Silke said:

"Life!"

Mustafa Mohammed Ahmed said:

"OR Tambo team, you're doing a sterling job."

Namibian woman arrested at OR Tambo

In a related article, Briefly News reported that a Namibian foreign national was arrested after she was caught carrying drugs.

The woman was making her way through immigration when immigration officers intercepted her. She was interrogated and afterwards taken to hospital, where it was discovered that she swallowed bullets of cocaine.

Source: Briefly News