South African police conducted a drug bust involving cocaine on November 2nd at the GQEBERHA SEA PORT(formerly known as Port Elizabeth) in South Africa. The seized cocaine is estimated to be worth $3.6 million and is believed to have originated from Brazil. This marks the third cocaine bust in South Africa involving drugs with alleged Brazilian origins
The confiscated cocaine was concealed in 35 blocks and was found on a vessel that had recently arrived from Brazil at the GQEBERHA SEA PORT. The police have not disclosed the specific location on the ship where the drugs were discovered.
According to media reports, the vessel in question is the 12,300 dwt “ZEA SERVANT,” registered in Hong Kong. While the police assert that the cocaine originated in Brazil, the vessel’s AIS data shows that it made stops in the United States before arriving in South Africa. The ship remained detained was in South Africa until November 6th and has since departed for Mumbai, India.
The earlier drug bust occurred on October 18th, where drugs valued at $3.8 million, including 200 kilograms of raw cocaine, were hidden inside 20-liter paint buckets at the PORT OF DURBAN. The name of the ship involved in this case was not disclosed.
Two days later, on October 20th, a third bust took place as police were conducting a follow-up investigation into the initial drug shipment. In this instance, drugs worth $4.4 million, consisting of 228 blocks of cocaine, were concealed inside meat boxes at the Dube Trade Port, also located in Durban Harbor. These shipments, like the recent one, are all believed to have originated from Brazil.
