Border Management Authority (BMA) officials have seized 46 fake passports and arrested two suspects at Kosi Bay as the agency steps up its festive season clampdown on illegal cross-border activity. The arrests took place on Thursday afternoon when BMA officials stopped a vehicle entering South Africa from Mozambique. The BMA said 46 fraudulent stamped passports were found in the boot of the vehicle.
Officials also found R34,890 in cash believed to be from criminal activities. According to BMA commissioner,Michael Masiapato, the suspects allegedly attempted to bribe officials with the cash and resisted arrest. “The interception reflects the BMA’s zero tolerance for corruption and the facilitation of transnational organised crime,” he said.
The Kosi Bay bust was part of broader joint law enforcement operations being rolled out at ports of entry and along vulnerable sections of the borderline as festive travels increase, he said. All ports of entry are functioning optimally, and the processing of people and goods continues smoothly “The guards intercepted 585 undocumented Zimbabwean nationals on the same day near the Grobler bridge port of entry to Botswana. They were moving without travel documents.” The groups were alleged to be transporting goods that had not been declared through customs processes.
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At Sani Pass, officers intercepted about 142 Basotho nationals as cross-border movements continue to rise. Masiapato said increased enforcement had led to shifts in movement patterns but that border operations remained under control. “All ports of entry are functioning optimally, and the processing of people and goods continues smoothly,” he said.
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