Luck runs out for 71-yr old South African drug carrier

NEW DELHI: Jan Harm Herbst, a 71-year-old South African had spent his last working days at a local chemical factory in South Africa, and was looking forward to spending retirement with his family.

However, the country was reeling from an economic crisis and the1500 Rand he was receiving every month was not enough to support his wife and four children.

Herbst decided to support his family by becoming a carrier for a Nigerian drug cartel and took trips to India, and would take large consignments of Methaqualone aka Mandrax from sources based in India and would return to his native country with the contraband.

Herbst had taken six trips, but his seventh one was the last trip, as the Delhi unit of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), arrested Herbst along with a Nigerian citizen, Martin from the Domestic Airport in the Capital on Monday.

When the investigators from NCB searched his luggage they found 14 kilograms of Mandrax, wrapped in polythene and carbon paper and concealed with T-shirts.

“Herbst and Martin had met near the airport. Martin handed over the luggage to Herbst, who was supposed to catch a flight to Bengaluru. Later, he was supposed to board the Etihad Airways flight from Bengaluru to Chennai and finally reach Johannesburg,” said Deputy Director General, (NCB), Dr RP Singh.

The investigators were completely taken aback by Herbst, as he looked like a foreign diplomat, and never suspected that he was a drug carrier.

While talking to the investigators, Herbst had disclosed the reasons why he undertook the drug trips.

“He told us that he had four children, who had recently shifted from South Africa. He also claimed that because of the economic and political crisis he did not get a job as he was white. We can't vouch for the authenticity of such claims,” said Madho Singh, Zonal Director, NCB.