Cocaine worth an estimated street value of R78-million was confiscated at the Oliver Tambo International Airport by South African Revenue Service Customs officials on Saturday.
Sars group executive Babs Naidoo said this marks the biggest ever cocaine bust by customs officials in South Africa.
En route from Sao Paulo to Nairobi, Kenya, the 271kg of narcotics were found in a cargo warehouse during routine operations.
"The specific shipment indicated as cosmetics on official documentation, was identified for closer inspection through customs profiling techniques."
Naidoo said a physical inspection was conducted after narcotic detector dogs reacted positively to the cargo. Officials found hair products packed in boxes.
"A drug test on a number of randomly selected containers all gave an immediate positive reaction to Cocaine." -- News24