More than 8,000 people who attempted to enter South Africa illegally were arrested between July and September.
This is according to Dr Michael Masiapato, the commissioner of the Border Management Authority (BMA), who held a media briefing on Sunday to reveal the authority’s performance and to outline its festive season operations.
“A total of 8,135 individuals were apprehended across ports of entry and segments of the borderline,” he said. Of these, 4,092 were undocumented, 2,061 were deemed inadmissible, and 1,982 were classified as undesirables,“ he said.
“The majority of the intercepted individuals...were led by Basotho nationals, followed by Mozambicans, Zimbabweans and Eswatini nationals,” he said, adding that the figures reflect long-standing migration patterns in the region.
Masiapato said since its inception in 2022, the BMA has stopped 505,065 individuals trying to cross into SA illegally and recovered 349 stolen vehicles that were being taken to neighbouring countries from SA.
“Overall, BMA immigration officers processed 9,283,658 travellers entering or leaving the country [between July and September] — a 23% increase compared to the 7,576,650 travellers recorded in the same period in 2024.”
He attributed the improved enforcement partly to surveillance tools, including drones.
The authority also intercepted 15 high-powered suspected stolen vehicles as syndicates attempted to smuggle them out of SA.
BMA officers also seized 1,700kg of counterfeit clothing and footwear valued at approximately R1.28m.
During the festive season, the BMA will heighten its operations across its 71 points of entry into SA, which include 52 land borders, 10 airports and nine seaports, as it anticipates tightened movement of travellers.
BMA said the planning phase, which started in September, is characterised by extensive consultative engagements with multiple stakeholders in both the public and private sectors.
“The Western Cape provincial government, together with the City of Cape Town, has availed about 50 personnel for deployment at Cape Town International Airport to assist us on immigration management; the Gauteng provincial government has also availed about 80 personnel for deployment at OR Tambo International Airport for assisting us on immigration management,” he said.
The tourism department will allocate about 160 monitors to assist in queue management at various ports of entry, and the social development department will deploy social workers through their provincial structures to assist in handling the vulnerable, particularly unaccompanied minors and victims of trafficking.
The BMA achieved partnership with the South African Freight Forwarders Association, the Association of Meat Importers and Exporters, and the South African Association of Ship Operators and Agents to fund some of their operations through a cost recovery model.
“During the [festive season] phase [from Wednesday until January 15], we will be intensifying our measures to detect and seize narcotics, illicit goods, and stolen vehicles,” Masiapato said.
“We therefore want to warn all travellers to desist from committing any act of criminality around the ports or even in the border law enforcement areas, as they will be detected and arrested.
“During the exit leg, the corridors leading to our land ports of entry will be fully monitored to ensure the effective management of traffic flow under the leadership of the Road Traffic Management Corporation, the Cross Border Road Transport Agency, and the respective traffic authorities in the respective provinces.”
Sowetan
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