Seychelles-bound woman busted with 1.04kg of cocaine at OR Tambo International Airport |06 November 2017

More than 2 kilogrammes of cocaine could have entered Seychelles if not for the timely interventions of security officers at the OR Tambo International Airport in South Africa on Friday.

According to Sunday Times of South Africa, the unusual body shape of woman who was bound for Seychelles landed the unwelcome attention of airport security.

The newspaper writes that it was the “unusual body shape” of the Seychelles-bound passenger that caught the eye of security staff at OR Tambo International Airport on Friday.

But her enhanced figure was not natural. She needed seven bras to support two bricks of cocaine weighing a total of 1.04kg.

OR Tambo International Airport spokesperson Leigh Gunkel-Keuler told the newspaper that Airports Company South Africa security staff stopped the busty passenger at a security checkpoint for Terminal A.

During a private search‚ security staff discovered the two bricks of cocaine. She was handed over to the police.

“We are fast approaching the festive season and it is very common for criminals to use this period to their advantage.  We appreciate that at busy holiday times some people may be tempted to offer or to take short cuts. We urge airport users not to offer or pay bribes and to report suspicious activity. People should also be aware that the law provides for prosecution not only of those soliciting bribes‚ but also of those who offer them or pay them,” said Gunkel-Keuler.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, security officers at the OR Tambo International Airport found three bricks of cocaine.

The cocaine is believed to be linked to Friday’s arrest of the woman who was bound for Seychelles.

“After detaining the suspect with the cocaine concealment on Friday, security staff searched her three travelling companions and offloaded their checked-in luggage for further scrutiny. No drugs were found and the three were allowed to board their flight,” said Gunkel-Keuler.

Still according to Gunkel-Keuler, security staff remained suspicious and expanded their search on Saturday morning.

“A cleaner then called security staff to a women‘s bathroom close to the security checkpoint after finding suspicious packages at the bottom of a sanitary bin. The packages were wrapped in the same material as the 1.04kg of cocaine found on Friday.”

It was established that the packages contained 1.34kg of cocaine, which was handed to the investigating officer of the SAPS.

Meanwhile, Seychelles NATION has contacted the National Drugs Enforcement Agency (NDEA) to query whether they have more details about the incident and if those involved are Seychellois.

This newspaper was told that the NDEA will not be giving any comment about the incident for the time being and it was also informed that the South African authorities are yet to contact the NDEA about what happened.