THE 'LONG HAUL' DRUG MULES

Police Target Mainline Buses in Secret Operation Against Crime Couriers

Police have revealed a secret operation targeting long-haul buses being
used to courier drugs worth millions across South Africa.

Operation Long Haul focused on Park Station in Johannesburg - the hub of
long-distance travel - in May this year.

Johannesburg is considered central to the illegal drug trade.

During the six-day operation, drugs, cash and ammunition amounting to
R2785840 were seized.

The operation focused on Translux, Greyhound, Intercape and City to City
mainline buses.

Buses have become the preferred means of transporting drugs because they
are not stopped as frequently during police roadblocks and because security
at airports was tightened after the September 11 attacks in the US.

An amount of R109000, believed to be the "proceeds of illegal activities",
was confiscated from a Durban businessman by the SAPS, pending a high court
application by the National Prosecuting Authority to seize the money.

The seizure application is being made under the Prevention of Organised
Crime Act and will be heard next week.

Court papers tell how drug dealers and other criminals use couriers to
transport drugs, other contraband and cash.

The illegal drug trade relies on drugs being sourced in one city and
transported to another for sale and distribution.

Many dealers source their drugs in Johannesburg and transport them to
cities such as Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.

Drugs are also couriered from coastal cities to Johannesburg.

Payment for a consignment of drugs or other contraband was usually made in
cash, rather than through a formal banking system. This reduced the risk of
exposure.

Sgt Mohale Matloga of the Crime Intelligence Gathering Unit says in court
papers that couriers are hired by a drug syndicate. They are chosen at
random and instructed on a "need-to-know basis".

"The organised drug dealers themselves are not involved in carrying out the
actual operation. In this way, syndicate members are protected from
investigation and prosecution," says Matloga.

The money being targeted in the seizure application was found on a courier
disembarking from a Greyhound mainline bus from Port Elizabeth.

The money - wrapped in brown tape - was found in his bag. He claimed the
money belonged to his father, a dealer in drugs and precious metals.

But when the police seized the money, they were contacted by a Durban
businessman who claimed the money was from the sale of second-hand vehicles.

Senior Superintendent Joseph Nomdoe, the area head of Crime Intelligence in
Johannesburg, said in court papers that the illegal drug trade represented
an enormous problem for law-enforcement agencies.

"It is seldom the crime bosses who are caught with dirty hands. Through the
use of couriers, these crime bosses are able to create a gap large enough
between themselves and the activities of the couriers to ensure that it
will be difficult for the SAPS to prove a crime or to associate the crime
boss with a crime," he said.

Greyhound spokesman Fanie van der Walt welcomed the SAPS operation, saying
it needed to be conducted regularly.

"Park Station is not a secure environment like the airport, and we have no
control over the movement of people. We don't search passengers' luggage,
as we don't have the authority to do so and we respect their privacy," said
Van der Walt.

He said the only way to determine the owner of a bag was from the tag
placed on it.

Intercape area manager Leon Kroet said there were "loopholes", especially
at border posts and in outlying areas where passengers were picked up.

"We don't have scanners like they do at the airports. This is a very
serious problem. Just look at Johannesburg station. It is the main junction
and all routes lead there, whether it's trains or buses.

"I think we're missing the point and need to step up security. Government
departments need to work together and tighten these loopholes, then drug
dealers will have to look elsewhere," he said.

Chris Brand, executive manager of operations for the Autopax group, which
runs Translux and City to City, agreed with Kroet, saying the smaller
pick-up points were difficult to monitor.

"We don't have the right to look through people's luggage and accept every
person as a normal passenger," he said.