Investigations underway to trace owner of large Durban drug shipment - KZN top cop

DURBAN - KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi said investigations were underway to trace the owner of a large drug shipment uncovered on Monday.

Authorities seized over R86 million worth of cocaine from a warehouse in the Bluff area, south of Durban.

The drugs were shipped from Brazil and disguised as beans.

Mkhwanazi said the drugs were destined for Gauteng, adding that they had been marked for easy identification.

"They were marked differently from the ones with drugs, so they had a special sticker that identifies them, and they were placed on top of the container, so I guess it was going to be easy for the owners of those drugs when the container is opened to quickly take the drugs out and close the container again."

Mkhwanazi added they may had been transported without the knowledge of the cargo owner.

"It looks like the owner of the cargo that is brought in here might not necessarily be aware of what is going on. These are the criminals, the cartels, that are piggybacking on the movements of the goods from Brazil coming to South Africa."