MUSINA — A 45-year-old Malawian man appeared in the Musina Magistrate’s Court on Friday for allegedly attempting to smuggle heroin with an estimated street value of R19 million into South Africa, Limpopo police said.
Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said Makunkha Kennedy Manda was formally charged with possession of the drugs. The case was postponed to December 27 for a formal bail application. He was arrested at Musina’s Beitbridge border post on Friday morning.
“The suspect, a bus driver of a recognised South African luxury bus service, was arrested with more than 1981 grammes of heroin tablets worth around R19 million,” Mulaudzi said.
“The operation began when (police) and customs officials stopped the bus from Malawi, and a search by officials as well as a sniffer dog led to the discovery of a packet with a large amount of tablets in possession of the driver.”
Mulaudzi said the tablets were tested and found to be heroin.
The man was arrested on Friday morning by the SA Police Service and the SA Revenue Service.
The package was given to the police narcotics unit for further investigation. — Sapa
