R61 Million Gold Bar Bust at OR Tambo Airport

Three people have been arrested at the OR Tambo International Airport, after gold bars worth a street value of R61 million were seized from their hand luggage.

Police say these suspected smugglers are expected to appear before the Kempton Park Magistrates’ Court on charges of dealing with precious metal and contravention of the Customs Act after gold weighing 73.5 kg was found in their hand luggage at the airport.

Police Spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says they acted on information provided by security officials at the airport after a security scanner identified irregular images, and arrested the three suspects at the international arrival terminals.

The trio had just flown into South Africa from Madagascar and were en-route to Dubai via Ethiopia last week when they were apprehended.

Mathe adds that investigations are also underway by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) with the assistance of Interpol with authorities from various countries to determine the legitimacy of the certification papers as provided by the men and also to determine the country of origin where the gold was mined.