Customs officials in South Africa seize $1.4m in illicit diamonds, gold

The major shipment of illicit rough diamonds and gold confiscated at Beitbridge border post last week was one of several recent large hauls, according to the South African Revenue Service.    Customs officials in South Africa seized a major shipment of illicit rough diamonds and gold at Beitbridge border post last week, according a statement from the South African Revenue Service (SARS).
   The uncut stones were worth an estimated 2.26 million South African rand (U.S. $ 164,912), while the gold was worth an estimated 17.5 million rand. The illicit goods were found in boxes when “officials noticed unusual objects” during an inspection of goods in a truck from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said SARS.
   The goods, which were hidden in a sealed container, included a suspected 143.35g of gold, 63.54g of black diamonds, 67.58g of diamonds, 173.10g of uncut industrial diamonds, 10.36g of clear uncut diamonds, and 566.87g of industrial diamonds.
   Meanwhile, SARS said customs officers have also made a number of other major seizures in the past two weeks.
    On Aug. 25, officers found 179 packages of ephedrine (crystal methamphetamine) hidden in a driver’s bags during a search of a truck transporting sugar from Malawi at Beitbridge border post. The illegal narcotics weighed in at a total of 14.5kg and were estimated to be worth approximately R 5.075 million.
   Customs officials at the Ficksburg border post seized 1190kg of cannabis, worth approximately R1.6 million, in a truck attempting to cross the border into South Africa from Lesotho on Aug. 26.
   On Aug. 27, an inspector at the ORTIA mail center discovered three boxes containing 60,000 male sexual enhancement pills, valued at R 6 million, which had been incorrectly declared and had no permit.
   An airline passenger disembarking at Johannesburg from Sao Paulo on Aug. 28 was found to have swallowed 38 “bullets” full of cocaine with a total street value of R 138,996.
   And officers on Aug. 31 found an undocumented Thai woman concealed on the floor of a Corsa van that had been stopped for a random inspection.