The Border Management Authority (BMA) has intercepted 30 travellers in two suspected human-trafficking attempts at OR Tambo International Airport, as festive-season operations to tighten border security intensify.
Acting commissioner Jane Thupana confirmed the interceptions, saying they form part of the authority’s broader efforts to clamp down on irregular migration, visa fraud and transnational organised crime.
In the first incident, 14 Ethiopians, five men and nine women, were stopped on Wednesday after arriving on an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
According to BMA spokesperson Mmemme Mogotsi, their movement patterns triggered an alert during routine passenger analysis, prompting officials to intervene.
“Preliminary investigations revealed a modus operandi commonly used in human trafficking syndicates, where individuals attempt to transit through South Africa en route to neighbouring countries and later re-enter South Africa.”
All 14 were taken in for further processing.
Mogotsi said in a separate incident, 16 Bangladeshi men were intercepted after officers noticed them blending suspiciously with South African travellers in the arrivals maze.
Officials separated them from the queue for profiling and took them to the border law enforcement office for checks.
“Their documentation was confirmed to be fraudulent, and their intentions inconsistent with legitimate travel, raising concerns of possible human trafficking activity,” Mogotsi said.
Thupana praised the officers involved for their alertness and use of intelligence tools.
She said the interceptions show the strength of the BMA’s data-driven and on-the-ground approach, highlighting the role of “advance passenger data, behavioural profiling and on-the-ground enforcement” in stopping criminal networks from exploiting South Africa’s borders.
The authority said it will continue to increase vigilance at ports of entry throughout the festive season, adding that it remains committed to protecting the country from “irregular migration, visa fraud and human trafficking syndicates”.
TimesLIVE
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