Werner Menges
27 August 2008
A 27-YEAR-OLD crew member of Namibia's national airline is in Police custody in Cape Town, South Africa, after being arrested over the weekend with a stash of cocaine allegedly hidden in his underpants.
Members of the South African Police Service arrested suspected drug courier Douglas Albrightson at Cape Town International Airport on Saturday.
The incident has been widely reported in the South African media since the weekend.
South African Police spokesman Dennis Adriao told The Namibian yesterday that Albrightson was arrested before boarding a flight to Windhoek.
Adriao said the SA Police were following up information that they had received, and when officers searched Albrightson, they found some 230 grams of suspected cocaine hidden in his underwear.
The substance is still to be tested to confirm whether it is cocaine and how pure it is.
Adriao said approximately 230 grams of cocaine would, conservatively calculated, have a street value of about 66 000 rand in South Africa.
In Namibia, the same quantity of cocaine would have a street value of N$115 000.
Although Adriao declined naming the airline that Albrightson works for, The Namibian has been informed by other sources that he is a cabin attendant for Air Namibia.
Adriao said Albrightson appeared in the Bellville Magistrate's Court in Cape Town on drugs possession and smuggling charges on Monday.
His case was postponed to September 3, and he remains in Police custody in the meantime.
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