Pure cocaine worth R1.3 billion has been seized from a container ship.
Customs officers of the South African Revenue Service (Sars) and SAPS found 300kg of cocaine following a raid on a container ship at the Durban harbour on Friday.
The drugs were detected after a week-long, intelligence-driven operation led by the Sars National Targeting Unit.
In a statement, Sars said its Marine Unit, Durban Operations, SAPS Crime Intelligence and National Detective Service boarded the vessel to secure several containers that were profiled by Sars.
They were inspected after they were unloaded in Durban harbour.
The inspection revealed zinc metal products and several black bags containing 378 bricks of pure cocaine.
The illicit cargo and what appears to be cellular tracking devices were handed over to police for further investigations.
Sars commissioner Edward Kieswetter praised the well coordinated raid: “By working together, government has shown once again that it is determined to fight the scourge of narcotics entering the country and destroying the lives of its users, especially the youth.
“Sars will not tolerate these illegal activities but will rather continue to fulfil its mandate of facilitating legal trade to further economic development of our country,” Kieswetter added.