I'm not sure either. It's been a long time since I flew! But if they're like any of the other officials in SA they'll probably be pretty lax. I think the general work ethic among government officials in SA is put in as little effort as possible! I'm sure they won't hassle me too much. I was more worried about the customs officials in the uk but judging from what you said it should be fine! I'm actually gonna start dreads in a couple of minutes! Getting excited now:D
updated by @kika-moonh: 07/18/15 03:23:10AM
Dreadlocks and airport customs??
They probably spotted the drugs on that woman right away from the body scanner. Those things are incredibly detailed so if you don't have any drugs in your hair then there will be nothing to see and nothing to worry about.
Funny enough, I watched a video about how people cheat those scanners. This guy made a gun holster that layed flat against his side. In some of the body scanners, anything that is metal will show up black against your skin which shows up white. With the gun on the side, it was flat enough that a frontal image did not pick it up. So even with the most high body scanners, you could still get a gun or other metal objects through customs.
I really doubt that the lady that was busted was caught through a randomized haircut. They probably had a description of her or her name on file or they saw something in her hair.
If you have nothing to hide then you shouldn't worry. I think I would err on the side of caution and remove any beads or metallic bits you might decorate your hair with to avoid harassment and if they bring up wanting to look through your hair, explain to them that they cannot alter your hair due to religious reasons (assuming that is why you are dreading) and that you would be more than willing to let a dog smell you out.
Lol never thought I'd ever hear about dreads eating a pair of sunglasses! I'm sure the officials won't look twice. They only caught that lady cos' whatever she was smuggling the coke in inside her dreads had burst and there was a rather odd looking white powdery substance on the outside of her dreads! Lol not a giveaway at all!;)
lol
