The use of Brazilian chicken shipments to smuggle drugs to South Africa is a continuing problem.
As FairPlay warned last week of the need for vigilance when Brazilian supplies resume after a bird flu ban, the Daily Maverick reported on the latest efforts to smuggle cocaine from South America to South Africa.
“A shipping container carrying chicken was intercepted and searched at the Port of Paranagua in Brazil last month. In it, a 13.5kg consignment of cocaine was discovered – and it was destined for Durban, according to Federal Revenue Service officials in Brazil.
“About a week later, in June, 70kg of cocaine was intercepted at Paranagua port. ‘The criminal scheme involved smuggling the drug into a container bound for South Africa,’ Brazil’s Federal Police said at the time.
“These intercepted consignments were relatively small and raise questions about whether they may have been decoys to distract from larger batches of drugs,” the Daily Maverick reported. The publication has reported extensively on cocaine smuggling from Brazil to South Africa.
A judicial commission has been established to investigate claims by the KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, that a drug cartel controlled a criminal syndicate that extended into the police, prisons, judiciary and law enforcement authorities.
“Mkhwanazi alleged that drugs were brought in from South America and often entered the country via the Port of Durban,” the Daily Maverick said.
The report backs up the concerns FairPlay detailed last week, including drug smuggling but focused on food safety concerns because of the scandals that have beset Brazilian poultry producers over many years.
