Cape Town – A Norwegian man was arrested for possession
of 24kg of Khat at O R Tambo International Airport this week, police said on
Saturday.
The 45-year-old was arrested during a routine search as
he was about to board a Zurich-bound flight on Thursday night, said police
spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo.
He said the illegal stimulant had an estimated street
value of almost R50 000.
Khat is a leafy plant, indigenous to east Africa, and is
used as a stimulant when chewed.
The man was set to appear in the Kempton Magistrate’s
Court on Monday on a charge of dealing in drugs.
His arrest was the latest in ongoing efforts aimed at
ensuring the airport was not used as a transit channel for drug smuggling, said
Naidoo.
On Monday, a 22-year-old woman travelling on a Norwegian
passport appeared in the same court on a drug-dealing charge.
Najmo Abokar Ibrahim was also arrested as she was about
to board a Zurich-bound flight in Johannesburg last week.
Naidoo said officers found 17kg of Khat, with an
estimated street value of R34 400, in her possession.
In remarkably similar fashion, a 50-year-old man on a
British passport was arrested at the airport last month as he was about to
board for Zurich.
Graeme John Richards was arrested after being found with
26kg of Khat, with an estimated street value of R52 000.
