A man has been arrested at the Beitbridge border post for aiding undocumented migrants cross into South Africa for just R300.
The Border Management Authority (BMA) on Monday said the man from SA was caught by drone surveillance and intercepted by its officials while attempting to exit the patrol zone in Musina, Limpopo, with two undocumented people.
The area the man dubbed as a facilitator operates from was in a carport just 500m opposite the port.
Officials said another facilitator who fled the scene was seen conversing with a migrant before cash was exchanged between the two through a red gate.
BMA commissioner Michael Masiapato said they had intensified their efforts to identify and arrest facilitators at border posts.
He said facilitators charge undocumented foreigners between R300 and R350 to get across the border.
“What we are doing seriously now is identifying and arresting the facilitators. These individuals aren’t deported – instead, they’re taken to the police station in Musina and charged for aiding and abetting,” he said.
Speaking at the command site where the drones were being operated from, Masiapato said: “It is great to capture the groups of [undocumented] people but they are not the ones organising this [illegal crossing].”
“We need to get the people who organise for these people being transported into the country, the people who are pulling the ropes, like we did in Lebombo [border in Komatipoort, Mpumalanga].
“We let these people cross the river and then follow them until we get to the facilitator.”
Masiapato said they had let a group of undocumented migrants travel into the country at Lebombo and later arrested them and the taxi driver who had met them halfway past the border.
“Even if we don’t get them all, and two or three escape, as long as we can get the facilitator, that cuts their operation much shorter,” Masiapato said.
The arrest of the man at Beitbridge came as officials were monitoring a makeshift boat with several passengers in the Limpopo River.
“When it comes to illegal migration at Beitbridge, this [using makeshift boats] is a common pattern. People are put into makeshift boats and ferried across the Limpopo River. We keep destroying those boats, but they keep rebuilding them.
“We can’t act while they’re still on the Zimbabwean side or even entering the river, but once they’re on our side, that’s when we can act and arrest them,” he said.
Drone surveillance footage Sowetan has seen shows two people pulling a group of 15 people to the Limpopo River banks on the SA side.
The group then scattered shortly afterwards. However, BMA officials followed some who were going to meet another facilitator.
“Our border guards intercepted the group we saw today in the bush, and as we speak, they are being processed for deportation.”
The arrest of the man at Beitbridge came as officials were monitoring a makeshift boat with several passengers in the Limpopo River.
Image: ANTONIO MUCHAVEMasiapato said 1,000 undocumented people have been arrested and deported since Tuesday, leading up to the Easter holidays.
“We’ve processed just about 89,000 people since Tuesday last week. Now, from yesterday [Sunday] until today, we’re officially in the return leg,” he said.
Drone operator Thato Motloung said: “The drone is the eyes in the sky. It helps the officials know from which positions foreigners are coming from.
“It has features like obstacle detection and movement detection, something you might miss with a naked eye, like someone hiding under a truck or even in the river, that’s how we detected the body of the person who was eaten by a crocodile [in the Limpopo River] on Sunday,” Motloung said.
Lea Petersen, business enablement projects coordinator for Armaments Corporation of SA, said the technology being used by the BMA has really helped the officials work to the fullest ability, improving public behaviour.
“The drones have been used once again, it’s been so inspirational to see how the drones using artificial intelligence and providing an eye in the sky help the BMA to do targeted arrests and targeted operations,” said Petersen.
