News24 | Drugs worth more than R37m found in moulded artwork destined for New Zealand at OR Tambo airport

Drugs worth R37 million have been seized at OR Tambo International Airport, with customs officers making the find in a cargo of "artwork".

Customs officers at OR Tambo International Airport found 23kg of drugs worth more than R37 million disguised as moulded artwork in a box destined for New Zealand, according to the South African Revenue Service (SARS).

In a statement on Saturday, SARS commissioner Edward Kieswetter said: "The customs officers were doing their inspection rounds when they came across a box headed for New Zealand. The box contained items of moulded artwork, which looked suspicious. The officers used a narcotics test kit and some of the items tested positive for crystal meth, which weighed 10kg," he said.

The police were called in, and further tests established that some items that contained fentanyl, an opioid primarily used to manage pain or as a sedative.

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