Police seized 32 blocks of cocaine worth an estimated R13 million concealed inside buses at the Port of Durban on Tuesday as part of an intelligence driven operation. Photo credit: @dasenthathia on X
Thirty-two blocks of suspected cocaine have been seized at the Port of Durban after police discovered the drugs concealed inside buses that formed part of a shipment from South America and were destined for Gauteng.
KwaZulu-Natal police have confiscated cocaine with an estimated street value of approximately R13 million during an operation at the Port of Durban on Tuesday 5 May 2026. The bust, which involved officers from Durban’s Operational Response Services and the Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit, led to the discovery of 32 blocks of suspected cocaine concealed inside buses that had been shipped from South America and were destined for Gauteng.
How the Bust Unfolded
Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda confirmed that the operation was intelligence driven and followed directly from a separate drug seizure that had taken place in Gauteng in April 2026. During the investigation of that bust, law enforcement obtained information indicating that the drugs had entered South Africa through the Port of Durban, prompting investigators to focus their attention on the harbour.
Acting on that intelligence, members of the Operational Response Services and the Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit conducted an operation at the Port of Durban on Tuesday. Officers searched buses that had arrived as part of a shipment from South America and discovered 32 blocks of suspected cocaine concealed within the vehicles. The buses were destined for Gauteng before law enforcement intervened.
No arrests had been confirmed at the time of publication. Netshiunda confirmed that investigations are underway to identify the suspects behind the shipment and to trace the intended recipients of the drugs in Gauteng.
South America to South Africa: A Well-Documented Pipeline
Tuesday’s bust is the latest in a long and troubling pattern of cocaine shipments entering South Africa from South America through the Port of Durban. The harbour has been identified by senior law enforcement officials as one of the country’s primary drug trafficking entry points.
Major General Hendrick Flynn, testifying before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Tuesday, confirmed the scale of the problem.
“The main trafficking hubs in South Africa are the Durban Harbour, OR Tambo International Airport and the Lebombo port of entry,” Flynn told the commission.
All trafficking through shipping containers is usually undertaken by sophisticated syndicates.”
Flynn also outlined the standard protocols followed by Hawks officers during drug bust operations, including the deployment of K9 units, the cordoning of the scene and the collection of evidence.
Previous busts at the Port of Durban have revealed the lengths to which trafficking syndicates go to conceal their shipments. Cocaine has previously been found hidden inside paint containers, concealed within bags of red beans designed to feel and look like the real product, and packed inside meat boxes at cold storage facilities. The consistent use of the Port of Durban as an entry point has raised ongoing questions about the adequacy of screening and surveillance at one of Africa’s busiest commercial harbours.
A Series of Major Seizures
Tuesday’s R13 million bust is part of a broader pattern of significant drug seizures at the Port of Durban in recent years. In October 2023 police seized 200 blocks of cocaine worth R70 million hidden inside 20-litre paint containers after monitoring a vessel from Brazil for a month. Two months later, 433 blocks of cocaine worth R150 million were discovered packed inside meat boxes at a cold storage facility. In December 2024, police uncovered cocaine worth R86.5 million hidden in bags of red beans as part of a Brazil shipment. And in September 2025, SARS intercepted cocaine worth R56 million hidden in refrigeration units aboard a cargo vessel.
The frequency and scale of these seizures points to the Port of Durban being a consistently targeted entry point for international drug trafficking syndicates with well-established supply chains between South America and South Africa.
Investigations Ongoing
The South African Police Service confirmed that investigations are ongoing following Tuesday’s seizure. Detectives are working to identify the individuals behind the shipment and to trace the network responsible for moving the drugs from the Port of Durban to their intended destination in Gauteng.
Editors Note No arrests had been confirmed in connection with Tuesday’s cocaine seizure at the time of publication. All investigations referenced in this article are ongoing. Mzansi Today Live will update this article as further information becomes available.