Scott Parker, a South African man allegedly used cats to smuggle heroin worth R13m into the UK, The Star reported on Friday.
Scott Parker was accused of hiding the drugs in the bottoms of three cat crates with the animals still inside. The cats were on a flight from OR Tambo International Airport to Heathrow Airport in London.
Britain’s National Crime Agency said workers at the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre thought the crates were unusually heavy after the cats were removed.
Officers uncovered a false bottom in the crates and found the hidden heroin.
Parker, from Benoni, had dual South African and British nationality, was arrested and had been charged with importing a class A drug into the country.
He had been remanded in custody and was due to appear in the Isleworth Crown Court next Thursday.