An operation conducted by the Border Management Authority (BMA) has led to the arrest of a man who was carrying 34 passports and a significant amount of money in cash.
The man carrying the passports was arrested on Monday at the Lebombo port of entry to Mozambique, according to BMA spokesperson Mmemme Mogotsi.
“During routine inspection, the BMA Border Guards discovered 34 passports accompanied by bank notes in the suspect’s possession,” said Mogotsi.
“Of these 34, 32 belonged to Mozambican nationals and two were identified as belonging to Angolan nationals.”
She said a case of possession of suspected stolen property has been opened and further investigations are under way to determine the origins of the passports.
IOL understands the 34 passports had exit stamps from the Mozambican side, and apparently the arrested man wanted to have the passports stamped into South Africa, when he was intercepted by the alert BMA Border Guards.
Meanwhile, commissioner of the Border Management Authority, Dr Michael Masiapato has commended the “outstanding” work of BMA Border Guards, following the arrest.
He saluted the “vigilance and dedication” of the BMA Border Guards, stating that this successful apprehension and confiscation of the passports is a message to the facilitators of illegal movements of people in and out of South Africa, which undermines border control systems.
“We will continue to charge them criminally with aiding and abetting, as prescribed by the Immigration Act,” Masiapato.
“The BMA Border Guards’ keen attention to detail and commitment to safeguarding our ports, is crucial in our ongoing efforts to combat illegal activities and rooting out corruption taking place in the border law enforcement area,” he said.
“We are proud of their contribution to maintaining the integrity of our nation's ports of entry.”
The Border Management Authority highlighted that it remains steadfast in its mission to secure the 71 ports of entry and to ensure the safety and security of all citizens.
The authority said it will continue to work closely with other law enforcement agencies to prevent and combat cross-border crimes.
In April, IOL reported that the BMA managed to intercept nearly 4,000 people who attempted to enter South Africa illegally during the Easter period.
According to the authority, a change of approach has been taken where travellers found with fake passport stamps or fake passports were not deported but arrested and sent to prison to face the law.
This is after 143 people, including two women from Zimbabwe, were allegedly held at Beitbridge port of entry with fake stamps to stamp travellers’ passports.
At the time, Masiapato revealed this when he outlined movement statistics and interceptions at ports of entry during the Easter period.
He said the authority had to deploy an additional 400 junior border guards, and has procured drones and body cameras to strengthen safety and security measures.
More than a million travellers were recorded across South Africa’s 71 ports of entry over a period of 10 days.
This was 222,391 more travellers compared with the same period last year.
“We had to deal with individuals attempting to subvert processes and enter the country illegally. They were processed, declared undesirable for five years, and deported,” said Masiapato at the time.
“Most of the inadmissible individuals were found with invalid passports, fraudulent visas or just failed to produce relevant documents such as valid yellow fever certificates, especially those travelling from yellow fever endemic countries.”
IOL