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All case files · Case file 03

The Limpopo intercept

Limpopo, South Africa · 1 January 2024

The record

Where
Limpopo, South Africa
When
1 January 2024
Quantity
8 kg
  • 8 kg heroin
Value
R3 000 000$166 660
Agencies
SAPS · TPF · DCEA
Map of the Southern Route: from the Makran coast across the Indian Ocean to Tanzania and Mozambique, then by road and air into South Africa; the Atlantic cocaine vector; the outbound air vector to West Africa.The Lebombo corridor file — Badplaas, Mpumalanga, South Africa, 16 July 2023The region’s largest recorded seizure — Tanzania, 12–22 December 2023The Limpopo intercept — Limpopo, South Africa, 1 January 2024The Vilankulo seizure — Vilankulo, Mozambique, 5 March 2024The Delmas load — Delmas, South Africa, 10 October 2024The Beira landfall — Beira, Mozambique, 21 February 2025The false compartment — Lomahasha Border Post, Eswatini, 17–18 July 2025The outbound vector — Lagos, Nigeria — shipped from OR Tambo International Airport, South Africa, February 2024TPC headquarters — MaputoTANZANIAMOZAMBIQUESOUTH AFRICAMAKRAN COAST
On the route: Limpopo

Five beats

How the case moved

The five beats of the public narrative. Agencies named; persons never.

  1. The TPC convenes

    The Tanzania picture is shared with the DCEA through the cell.

  2. Intelligence shared

    The TPC provides actionable information to South Africa.

  3. Movement tracked

    The target is expected to travel through a Botswana port of entry.

  4. Interdiction

    1 January 2024, Limpopo: 8 kg of heroin intercepted — the first day of the year.

  5. The network followed

    Small numbers, big meaning: one shared picture keeps producing seizures.

Outcome

A follow-up interdiction from the Tanzania picture, valued at R3 000 000.

Gallery

Evidence

From the TPC’s public presentation. Faces are pixelated; plates, documents and signage are blurred. The redaction is the message.

  • Packages recovered in the Limpopo interception, laid out on the road
  • Heroin recovered in Limpopo, opened for inspection
  • Details withheld
    The intercepted bakkie in Limpopo with a forensic officer at the open door; faces pixelated
  • Details withheld
    Rear view of the intercepted bakkie in Limpopo; number plate blurred, persons pixelated

Next step

The network behind the record

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