South African court jails Nigerian ‘mastermind’ and local accomplice for 37 years over meth trafficking

A South African high court has handed down a combined 37-year prison sentence to a Nigerian national, Victor Udoh, and his South African accomplice, Vuyisekha Mzwakhe, after finding them guilty of running a methamphetamine trafficking network across multiple cities.

Udoh, 33, was sentenced to 22 years—20 years for drug trafficking and two additional years for immigration offences—after prosecutors established that he coordinated the operation and financed the movements of his courier. Mzwakhe, identified by investigators as a willing participant, received 15 years.

According to Nova News, the duo planned their drug runs through messaging apps, with Mzwakhe travelling on Udoh’s sponsorship to move parcels between Johannesburg, Durban and Plettenberg Bay.

Their final operation collapsed on 15 October 2021 when both checked into a guesthouse in George. After collecting a delivered parcel, they boarded a taxi heading to Oudtshoorn. Acting on intelligence, police intercepted the vehicle at a roadblock and found Mzwakhe carrying 743 grams of methamphetamine—known locally as “tik”—worth R260,050.

Prosecutors told the court that Udoh had lived illegally in South Africa for more than five years after his asylum request was rejected. Both defendants pleaded not guilty, but the judge ruled that the evidence presented was “compelling and lawfully obtained.”

Udoh had spent five years in custody during the trial, while Mzwakhe was detained for one year after jumping bail.

South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority praised the judgement, saying drug trafficking remains a major driver of violent crime in affected communities.