According to reports from the authorities in the United Kingdom, they discovered 49 kilograms of cocaine camouflaged within a delivery of oranges from South Africa.
The amount of money that the cocaine could have made on the street in the UK is approximately equivalent to R75 million, Business Insider reports.
The Southwest Regional Organised Crime Unit is an umbrella organization that combines the efforts of several counties in England. In an image that was made public, the unit can be seen covering the drugs with a thin layer of oranges, some of which had moldy patches on them. The drugs were packed in high-end watch boxes that were tightly wrapped in transparent plastic.
The law enforcement organization did not provide any information regarding the South African end of the shipment, such as the port from which it originated or the company that was responsible for sending it. It was stated that the only shipment that had entered the United Kingdom through the Port of Felixstowe, which is located not too far from Ipswich. Felixstowe is the busiest port in the United Kingdom, handling almost half of all container traffic, and it has its very own specialized police unit.
According to the police, who carried out a total of seven warrants during the operation in London, they discovered the cocaine that originated in South Africa after arresting four men during the operation. These raids were initiated as a direct result of the finding in April of a shipment of cocaine weighing 189 kilograms that was delivered to a farm in the United Kingdom and had originated in Colombia.
Since their arrest, three of the four suspects have been granted their freedom and released from custody.
Large quantities of South African drugs have been discovered in India, Nepal, and the United States. Additionally, a conviction in Israel has revealed the specifics of an organized pipeline that was set up to smuggle cocaine into that country aboard El Al flights.
In 2019, police in Australia discovered 384 kilograms of cocaine welded into a used excavator that originated from South Africa and had been shipped to Australia.
READ MORE: Drugs found in “Cremora boxes,” suspect arrested
During this time, South Africa has been responsible for the seizure of tonnes of cocaine that was transported from Brazil, almost always through the port of Durban.
A combination of widespread police corruption and a well-developed transport infrastructure has made South Africa an ideal trans-shipment point, according to industry experts. This is because South Africa has a high volume of shipments going both to Europe and across the Indian Ocean.
