News24 | Suspected drug mule arrested at Cape Town International Airport

The Hawks in the Western Cape arrested a suspected drug mule at Cape Town International Airport on Sunday. (Supplied/Hawks)

The Hawks in the Western Cape arrested a suspected drug mule at Cape Town International Airport on Sunday.

The suspect, a 33-year-old Brazilian national, boarded a flight from Brazil and arrived in Cape Town on Sunday morning.

She was busted with cocaine inside a sports bag. The authorities later established the woman also swallowed an unknown amount of the drugs.

According to Lieutenant-Colonel Siyabulela Vukubi, a team comprising Cape Town International Airport Border Police and Customs, Department of Home Affairs officials and Plattekloof Forensic Science Laboratory members received a tip-off from the directorate's SA Narcotics Enforcement Bureau (SANEB) about an alleged drug mule on the flight.

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"SANEB members, along with the border police at Cape Town International Airport, followed up on the information. The suspect was identified, and upon searching her, cocaine was found hidden inside a sports bag," Vukubi said.

"Upon further investigation, it was established that she had swallowed an unknown quantity of drug pellets. She is currently in hospital to remove the swallowed drugs."

He added the estimated street value of the drugs has not yet been determined.

Once charged, the suspect will appear in the Bellville Magistrate's Court on Monday.

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