A breakdown of September Operation Corona successes shows a decrease in the number of illegal immigrants intercepted by soldiers as well as a substantial drop in value of contraband seized.
Statistics provided by the Joint Operations Division of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) show soldiers put paid to the intentions of 312 foreigners hoping to enter South Africa without the necessary documentation last month. In August 839 “undocumented persons” found themselves in Department of Home Affairs (DHA)/SA Police Service (SAPS) custody pending deportation, close to five hundred more than were stopped in September.
Zimbabweans at 145 made up the majority of September’s illegal immigrants, followed by Mozambicans (88) and Basotho (75).
After confiscating drugs worth R10 million plus in August, either the smuggling fraternity found ways to elude patrols or did not have as much product available to move illegally in September, borne out by narcotics confiscations just short of R2.5 million. The Eswatini/KwaZulu-Natal/Mozambique triangle was the biggest offender at R1.9 million with Mpumalanga/Mozambique a distant second on R581 253.
Contraband seizures in September were also markedly down on the previous month.
In August soldiers, in a number of instances supported by police, confiscated cigarettes, liquor, pharmaceuticals as well as fake branded clothing, footwear and other items valued at over R3.8 million. In September this figure dropped to just over R2 million. The contraband was being smuggled into South Africa by Mozambicans, Swazis and Zimbabweans with residents of South Africa’s northern neighbour the biggest culprits. Their share of confiscated contraband was valued at R1.9 million.
Joint Operations lists two incidents of “illegal grazing” in September where stock farmers from Botswana and Lesotho cross borders to allow cattle and “small stock” (usually sheep and goats) access to better grazing than in their home countries. The value of these incursions is put at R180 000 for the Botswana cattle and R73 600 for the small stock found on the South African side of the Free State/Lesotho border.
Numerous stolen vehicles were also recovered last month, with R2.3 million worth of vehicles recovered in Limpopo along the Zimbabwe border, and R300 000 worth of vehicles recovered in KwaZulu-Natal along the Mozambique border.
