The recent seizure of nearly R1 billion worth of methaqualone at the Beitbridge border post has intensified concerns over South Africa’s porous borders and the growing operations of international drug trafficking syndicates.
Authorities intercepted the drugs, which were concealed inside a truck travelling from Malawi into South Africa earlier this week. Methaqualone is commonly used in the production of mandrax.
Three suspects are expected to appear in court soon on charges related to drug trafficking.
Security expert Willem Els from the Institute for Security Studies said the bust may represent only a small portion of the drugs entering the country illegally.
Els said the successful interception demonstrates that new border security strategies and upgraded technology are beginning to produce results.
“Ever since the Minister [of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber] and the Commissioner [Michael] Masiapato started with a new strategy, things are starting to happen,” he said.
He explained that advanced scanning equipment played a crucial role in detecting the drugs.
“What provided the breakthrough this time around was one of your backscatter scanners. That’s a massive scanner that can scan the whole truck,” Els said.
However, he warned that the scale of the seizure is also deeply concerning.
“As a rule of thumb, they believe that about 30% of all drugs that are crossing the border are intercepted,” he added.
Els further warned that weak law enforcement in Malawi is increasingly being exploited by organised crime syndicates as an alternative route to move drugs into South Africa.
He also raised concerns about corruption and limited resources at ports of entry.
“Your state-embedded actors are being corrupted at our ports of entry and are working together with these syndicates in order to bring these things in. That makes it very porous,” Els said.
“Another problem that we have is that we are under-resourced. I think the BMA is about 20% to 25% funded for what they’re supposed to do. So what they are doing with what they have is actually a very good job.”
The Border Management Authority (BMA) said a cargo scanner detected suspicious substances inside the truck, prompting an intensive eight-hour search operation.
Officials eventually discovered approximately 713 kilograms of substances hidden inside the vehicle.
The South African Police Service, the K-9 Unit and the Hawks were immediately called in to assist with processing the crime scene and continuing investigations.
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber and the Border Management Authority are expected to brief the media on Friday morning regarding the operation and the ongoing investigation.