A 52-year-old South African national has been arrested at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg after allegedly arriving from Accra, Ghana, with substances suspected to be heroin valued at about R2 million.
The arrest was made on Sunday, September 20, 2026, during an intelligence-led operation conducted by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in partnership with the Border Management Authority (BMA).
According to a report by the South African government news platform, SAnews.gov.za, police intercepted the man shortly after he arrived on a flight from Accra.
A search of his luggage reportedly uncovered bullet-like objects and blocks containing substances suspected to be heroin.
The suspect is expected to appear before the Kempton Park Magistrates’ Court later this week to face drug trafficking-related charges.
South African authorities said the latest arrest brings to three the number of suspected drug mules arrested at OR Tambo International Airport within the past three weeks.
The arrests highlight growing concerns over the use of international air routes in the movement of illicit drugs, with the latest case adding Ghana to a series of recent investigations involving narcotics shipments linked to the country.
The development comes less than two weeks after French customs intercepted nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine concealed in a container of plastic waste that had arrived at the northern port of Dunkirk from Ghana.
The cocaine, estimated by French authorities to be worth about €225 million (US$261.45 million), was seized on September 10. French prosecutors subsequently opened an investigation into the alleged organised importation of narcotics and participation in a criminal association.
Four persons have since been remanded by an Accra High Court over their alleged involvement in the exportation of about four tonnes of cocaine from Ghana to France. The accused persons have pleaded not guilty, while a fifth suspect, Dutch national Jos Leudekkers, also known as “Bolle Jos”, remains at large, according to the Ghana News Agency.
The French seizure followed an earlier major case in Australia involving about 320 kilogrammes of methamphetamine allegedly shipped from Ghana in a consignment described as charcoal.
The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) said in June that it had begun investigations into the Australian seizure and was working with Ghanaian security agencies and international partners to identify and apprehend persons connected to the trafficking operation.
The Australian case subsequently prompted further scrutiny of Ghana’s border security arrangements. In July, Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak told Parliament that preliminary investigations had allegedly implicated some government officials suspected of facilitating the concealment and movement of the methamphetamine shipment. He said investigations were ongoing and that security arrangements at the country’s entry and exit points had been reviewed.
The latest South African arrest also comes days after President John Dramani Mahama convened security chiefs to review investigations into recent narcotics trafficking cases involving Ghana’s ports.
The Presidency said 10 individuals, including four officers of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), were being held while investigations continued.
Following the meeting on September 17, President Mahama directed the formation of an inter-agency task force to develop a detailed roadmap for preventing the trafficking of narcotic drugs through Ghana’s borders.
The task force has been given two weeks to submit its recommendations, with the exercise expected to review existing security structures and identify measures to strengthen controls at the country’s borders.
The government has also been increasing cooperation with international and regional drug enforcement agencies.
NACOC Director-General Major General Maxwell Obuba Mantey recently called for stronger intelligence sharing, coordinated investigations, joint patrols and more effective border management among African countries to combat transnational organised crime.
At the 33rd Meeting of Heads of National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies, Africa (HONLAF) in Vienna, Ghana reported that intelligence-led operations by NACOC and partner security agencies had resulted in 217 arrests and 165 prosecutions, with more than 8.5 tonnes of assorted narcotic drugs and 45.4 million tramadol tablets intercepted during the period under review.
Ghanaian authorities have also continued to make seizures and arrests in domestic operations.
On September 8, the Tema Regional Police Command arrested two persons and seized 692 parcels of suspected Indian hemp during a snap-check operation at Dawhenya.
Two weeks earlier, NACOC shut down the Amsterdam Pub at Laboma following an intelligence-led operation targeting alleged narcotics-related activities. Three suspects were arrested, while the prime suspect remained at large as investigations continued.
The Tema Regional Police Command also reported on September 19 that its Marine Police Detachment at Ada had intercepted an abandoned canoe carrying 29 sacks containing 2,213 slabs of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp on the River Volta.