The tip-off reportedly given to “military police officials” of the Mthatha-based infantry battalion saw soldiers alert Lebombo customs officials to an apparently abandoned and loaded truck at a nearby fuel stop on the N4. The loaded truck/trailer was taken to the SA Revenue Service (SARS) Lebombo where more than 6 700 pairs of sneakers as well as 340 pairs of Diesel branded and 216 branded pairs of G-Star jeans were found. The trainers were branded Adidas, Jordan, Lacoste, New Balance, Nike, Reebok and Vans.

All told the clothing and footwear was valued at R8 427 600. In addition to the big Lebombo haul soldiers also relieved smugglers of unspecified contraband worth R1.69 million on the Mpumalanga/Mozambique border in November.

The trade in counterfeit goods is a major issue for South Africa’s law enforcement agencies, which recently recorded other successes. At the end of October 2025, the Hawks seized R59 million worth of counterfeit Nike, Versace, and Gucci products during a raid on a freight container depot in Durban. Weeks earlier, authorities seized R260 million worth of illicit goods from over 100 shops in the North West province – police seized over 86 000 counterfeit items from stores in Coligny, Klerksdorp, Lichtenburg, Mahikeng, Potchefstroom, Rustenburg, Ventersdorp, and Zeerust.

In revealing its Operation Shanela II and Safer Festive Season Operation statistics over the last week, the SAPS said in the Western Cape, they uncovered an illicit alcohol manufacturing plant in Lansdowne and arrested two suspects aged between 26 and 39 years old. They were arrested for the illegal manufacturing and distributing liquor. Seizures included manufacturing equipment, an assortment of alcohol branding stickers, and unknown liquids.

The illicit alcohol industry has grown from R6.4 billion in value in 2017 to R16.5 billion in 2024. It has become so prevalent that roughly one in five bottles of alcohol is illicit. These are mostly either counterfeit or smuggled into South Africa.

Also in the Western Cape last week, members of the Provincial Organised Crime Investigation Narcotics Unit intercepted a truck on the N12 en route from Johannesburg to George carrying drugs. A box containing cocaine worth R3.6 million was seized and arrested a 46-year-old suspect for dealing in cocaine.

In Mpumalanga, police acting on intelligence intercepted a truck pulling two trailers with 12 water tanks with 5000-litre capacity packed with cartons of illicit cigarettes. The seized consignment consisted of 25 pallets of illicit cigarettes worth R17.4 million. A 43-year-old foreign national from the Kingdom of Eswatini was arrested after the discovery of illicit cigarettes hidden inside water tanks in Sundra on 5 December 2025.

Also in Mpumalanga, two Zimbabwean foreign nationals were arrested for dealing in dagga. This is after police intercepted a truck on the N2 Road from Empangeni en route to Zimbabwe and discovered six big bags of compressed dagga to the value of R1.2 million on 4 December 2025.

According to statistics from the Joint Operations Division of the SANDF, in November soldiers, from both regular SA Army and Army Reserve units, also stopped drugs worth just over R2 million from coming into South Africa via the country’s borders with Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

An unspecified number of vehicles with a total value of R1.45 million were prevented from illegally exiting South Africa en route to chop shops or for export from Botswana, Eswatini, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

That the original reason for the Operation Corona border safeguarding tasking – preventing illegal immigrants – still applies comes with interception of 302 in November, with 239 Zimbabweans the majority of those handed to police and Department of Home Affairs (DHA) officials. Basotho, Mozambicans, Swazis and Zimbabweans made up the remaining illegal immigrants nabbed by soldiers who were also integral to the detention of 30 suspects sought by police in connection with crimes not specified by the Joint Operations Division.

Livestock – cattle, goats and sheep – found illegally with an attributed value of R872 210 on South African pastureland was impounded. As is normal Basotho pastoralists were the biggest offenders accounting for R622 710 worth of livestock which either wandered across a non-existent or broken border fence or were herded into the Free State province.

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All told SA Army soldiers from both the regular and reserve forces confiscated R5.8 million worth of contraband and drugs from smugglers, with Mozambicans attempting to enter South Africa illegally across the KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga borders the biggest culprits.

Drugs valued at just over R3 million were seized in three provinces, with the largest haul (R2 million) seized in Mpumalanga last month. Contraband worth R2.8 million was recovered by soldiers, with the majority of that being seized in Limpopo (R2.4 million).

In August soldiers on the border protection tasking Operation Corona confiscated narcotics worth just under R800 000.

Illegal immigrant apprehensions in September totalled 322, according to statistics from the Joint Operations Division of the SANDF – well up from the 64 detained in August, but still short of the 456 handed to Department of Home Affairs (DHA) officials and police in July.

At 222, Mozambicans were the single largest contributor to the month’s illegal immigrant apprehensions with Mozambicans stopped by soldiers on the KwaZulu-Natal border adding, along with Swazis, 36 to that number. Twenty-three Basotho and six Batswana also found themselves in custody ahead of deportation to their home countries.

Soldiers on land borders with Eswatini, Lesotho and Mozambique recovered livestock (cattle and small stock such as goats and sheep) worth R1.1 million in September. Cattle all told valued at over R500 000 was moved to police and other compounds after being found illegally on South African pastureland bordering the same three countries.

No livestock was reported recovered in August by the Joint Operations Division of the SANDF, nor were any firearms seized.

In September, soldiers also prevented an unknown number of stolen vehicles valued at R7.9 million from illegally exiting South Africa via the Mpumalanga/Mozambique and Limpopo/Zimbabwe land borders. This compares with R1.8 million worth of stolen vehicles recovered in August and R8 million in July.

Joint Operations further reported the apprehension of 36 “criminals” attempting to reach Lesotho and Mozambique in September. A total of 27 criminals were apprehended in Operation Corona patrols in August.

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This is according to Correctional Services National Commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale who spoke to the media following the late-night raid.

“We are here to restore order. We are here to restore the security protocols that are supposed to prevail here. So far, we have found 30 cellphones, cellphone accessories [and] three routers.

“We found…slopes that are loaded with nyaope, mandrax tablets, crystal meth, dagga and we found offenders that are…buying from the kiosk and reselling to offenders.

“Others actually barter their items for food. It’s a problem for us because…if an offender doesn’t have enough food because they are exchanging their food for substances, it disturbs their ability to attend rehabilitation programs,” he said.

The Commissioner explained that the correctional centre was targeted following a tipoff.

“The second reason is that it is a small centre that is in a township and most instances, those centres are hubs of [the] selling of illegal substances.

“The third reason is that we also wanted to identify offenders that, given their classification, we might have to change their classification from low and medium to high risk given the contraband that we found in their possession,” Thobakgale added.
At least two offenders have been identified for relocation in this regard.

“There are officials that are [also] going through disciplinary processes. Even here, there are two officials that have been suspended. That is the work that management has been doing but we have identified that we need to come in and strengthen their hand in dealing with contraband and in ensuring that the centre is free from illegal substances and objects,” Thobakgale explained.

A reply to a Parliamentary question in December 2024 about smuggling shed light on what was being found in prison cells across the country. Over the previous 12 months when the reply was published, the Department of Correctional Services revealed that 411 smoking pipes, four official uniforms and six tattoo machines had been confiscated.

In addition, 41 853 cell phones were confiscated, 900 kg of drugs were seized, 11 894 weapons were taken off prisoners, and R201 765 in cash was recovered. Lighters, mirrors, memory cards, electrical wires, and cell phone accessories were also taken from prisoners over the 12-month period, along with 267 litres of alcohol.

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When illicit goods, excluding counterfeit items, are seized in connection with an arrest, they are stored in SAPS evidence facilities. These items are logged in the SAPS 13 register, a record-keeping system designed to maintain the integrity of the evidence chain. SAPS directives outline the handling, forensic testing, and legal processing of these exhibits, ensuring that all items remain secure and accounted for until they are required for further proceedings or eventual destruction.

A different system applies to counterfeit goods, which are often confiscated in large-scale raids conducted in co-ordination with multiple law enforcement agencies. Such goods are stored at designated provincial counterfeit depots rather than in SAPS evidence facilities. The responsibility for their destruction falls to the relevant trademark attorneys and brand protection agencies, ensuring that the disposal process adheres to intellectual property laws and industry standards.

The handling of illegal drugs follows an even more stringent process. All narcotics, excluding cannabis, must be sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for analysis before being destroyed. This ensures that the substances are properly examined for investigative purposes before they are permanently removed from circulation.

In the case of seized alcohol, a commissioned officer must authorise its destruction, which is carried out in consultation with local environmental authorities to prevent ecological harm. This approach helps SAPS balance law enforcement responsibilities with environmental considerations.

Despite these procedures, SAPS confirmed that four incidents of evidence loss have been recorded in the previous five years. The lost goods included drugs, cigarettes, and liquor, with a total estimated value of R207 880. While this figure is relatively low compared to the large volume of illicit goods handled by SAPS, the incidents highlight the ongoing challenge of safeguarding seized evidence.

The revelation of these losses has raised concern regarding the security of evidence storage and the risk of corruption and mismanagement. Ensuring the integrity of evidence is critical for successful prosecutions, says Mchunu, and any loss of seized goods could undermine public confidence in law enforcement.

With growing pressure to curb illicit trade and organised crime, SAPS vows to continues the refinement of its evidence management processes. The implementation of stricter oversight and improved storage facilities is necessary to further reduce the risk of lost evidence, noted Mchunu, adding that it reinforces the police’s commitment to maintaining transparency and accountability in its operations.

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