The number of people smuggling drugs into South Africa is "staggering"

The number of people smuggling drugs into South Africa is "staggering", an Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) manager said on Wednesday.

The company's head of security, Jason Tshabalala, told Parliament's portfolio committee on transport that many smugglers were able to pass through European airports on their way to South Africa.

"The number is staggering," he said during the presentation on the state of readiness of airports for the 2010 [Soccer] World Cup. "The number of people carrying drugs into South Africa is increasing tremendously."

He said, however, that drug smuggling was "a global problem", not confined to South Africa. Airports around the world were experiencing the same problem. "The security is not foolproof. At the end of the day it is a global problem and we have to deal with it."

• “International drug syndicates target South African mules”, The Times, Mar 22, 2009.
• "Drug Smugglers Targeting SAA":, News24.com, 2/18/09.
• “Drug smuggling and border control at Johannesburg International Airport and Durban Harbour”, Jonny Steinberg, Occasional Paper 104, Institute for Security Studies, April 2005.