South Africa’s Border Management Authority (BMA) has intercepted and deported nearly 10 000 people attempting to cross the border illegally during the first quarter of the financial year.
This is according to BMA commissioner Dr Michael Masiapato who briefed the media on the agency’s first quarter performance for the period 1 April to 30 June on Sunday.
“Of the 9 954 persons, 5 826 were undocumented, 2 127 were inadmissible and 2 001 were undesirables. In this instance, the majority of the intercepted and deported individuals were Basotho, Zimbabweans and Mozambicans,” Masiapato said.
“Incrementally, since July 2022, the border guards have been able to stop about 496 622 people who attempted to enter the country illegally. In this quarter, our border law enforcement team also intercepted and handed over to the police a total of 15 high-powered suspected stolen vehicles for further handling,” he said.
Some 349 vehicles, which were meant to be smuggled out of the country, were intercepted.
“Additionally, in dealing with the illicit trade, which negatively affects our economy, the border guards seized about 32 bales of counterfeit clothing and 201 pairs of counterfeit footwear with an estimated value of R1 098 000.00.
“In terms of document fraud, 14 passports bearing fraudulent immigration stamps were identified and confiscated, further illustrating ongoing attempts to undermine national security and immigration controls,” he said.
“The BMA also intercepted about 13 children across the various ports, of which five were unaccompanied and were therefore handed over to the officials of the Department of Social Development for further processing.”
Masiapato said the remaining eight, who were with their parents, were refused entry as they did not meet the entry requirements into the country.
He also announced the launch of a new passport stamp to eradicate the misuse of the previous stamps at ports of entry.
“We collaborated with Government Printing Works and designed the new stamps with the highest security standards, including the BMA logo, to prevent tampering, forgery, and unauthorised use. Before the introduction of the new stamps, all key stakeholders across the criminal justice system and the border management ecosystem were consulted and engaged on the matter,” he said. – SOURCES: SAnews.gov.za and IOL
