By Zukile Majova
- Fourteen Ethiopians were flagged for acting strangely and matching known trafficking routes.
- Sixteen Bangladeshi men tried to hide among locals but were caught with fake visas.
Border Management Authority (BMA) officers have stopped 30 people from entering the country illegally in a single day.
The major busts took place on 11 December at OR Tambo International Airport.
Acting Commissioner Jane Thupana says the arrests are part of a festive season crackdown on human trafficking and organised crime.
In the first incident, officers stopped 14 Ethiopian nationals, five men and nine women, who had just landed on an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
Officials say the group looked suspicious.
Their travel pattern matched a known trafficking method where victims are moved through South Africa to neighbouring countries, only to be smuggled back in later. The group was taken in for questioning and stopped from proceeding.
Later that same day, officers spotted 16 Bangladeshi men trying to blend in with South African travellers in the arrival queues.
The attempt to hide didn’t work.
Investigators pulled them aside and found they were travelling on fake visas. Their stories did not match their documents, raising serious red flags about human trafficking.
Thupana praised her team for their quick thinking.
She says intelligence and looking out for strange behaviour are key to stopping these syndicates.
“The BMA will continue working with local and international partners,” she said.
Pictured above: Border officials at OR Tambo International Airport stopped 30 trafficking suspects on 11 December.
Image source: BMA
