Beitbridge – South Africa’s Border Management Authority has scored what officials are calling the biggest drug bust in the country’s history, seizing nearly R1 billion worth of a methaqualone substance at the Beitbridge border post.
The operation, coordinated through the National Targeting Centre, was intelligence-driven from the start. Authorities had identified a truck travelling through Zimbabwe toward Beitbridge and were already in position when it arrived.
Once the vehicle was stopped, it was put through a sophisticated truck scanner on site, which revealed a hidden compartment. BMA officers spent eight hours carefully dismantling the truck before uncovering the substance, later confirmed to be methaqualone, also known as ABBA, a key ingredient used in the manufacture of mandrax tablets. 
The Hawks and K9 units were subsequently called to the scene. A total of 713 000 grams of the substance was seized, with an estimated street value of R998 200 000.
Three Malawian nationals were arrested and taken to Musina Police Station. The Hawks are conducting further investigations into the matter.
South Africa’s Minister of Home Affairs and Democratic Alliance Member of Parliament said the bust showed what was possible when intelligence, technology and boots on the ground worked together.
“This historic breakthrough in the fight against smuggling and drugs vividly demonstrates that the combination of intelligence-led investigations, digital transformation, and the commitment of the BMA is systematically rebuilding the rule of law at our borders,” the Minister said.
