Border guards thwart nearly 10,000 illegal crossings

In a decisive push against unlawful border crossings, South Africa’s border guards intercepted 9,954 individuals attempting to enter the country illegally during the recent enforcement period.

Border Management Authority (BMA) commissioner Dr Michael Masiapato revealed this during a media conference to report on the authority’s first quarter of the 2025/26 financial year, from April 1, 2025, to June 30, 2025. 

Masiapato said their ports’ immigration specialists processed 8,582,250 passengers entering and leaving South Africa. 

“Regarding conventional border law enforcement work as undertaken by the border guards, a total of 9,954 persons were intercepted, apprehended and deported as they were attempting to enter the country illegally. Of the 9,954 persons, 5826 were undocumented, 2,127 were inadmissible, and 2001 were undesirables,” Masiapato explained. 

He said most of the individuals intercepted and deported in this case were Basotho, Zimbabweans, and Mozambicans. 

“Incrementally, since July 2022, the border guards have been able to stop about 496,622 people who attempted to enter South Africa illegally,” Masiapato said. 

“In this quarter, we intercepted about 13 children across the various ports, of which five were unaccompanied and were therefore handed over to the officials of the Department of Social Development for further processing. The remaining eight who were with their parents were refused entry as they did not meet the entry requirements into the country.”

He said their border enforcement team also intercepted a total of 15 high-powered, suspected stolen vehicles and handed them over to the South African Police Service for further handling. 

“Incrementally, since July 2022, the border guards intercepted over 349 vehicles that were meant to be smuggled out of the country by criminal syndicates,” Masiapato said.

In addition, Masiapato said border guards seized about 32 bales of counterfeit clothing and 201 pairs of counterfeit footwear with an estimated value of R1,098,000. 

In terms of document fraud, 14 passports bearing fraudulent immigration stamps were identified and confiscated.

Not limited to human movement, Masiapato said BMA agricultural biosecurity specialists processed a total of 38,094 consignments of agricultural goods through the authority’s top 26 commercial ports of entry.

He said some of the processed consignments contained regulated agricultural goods like plants and their products, which pose phytosanitary risks to the country. Additionally, some of the consignments processed related to live animals and their products, which could also pose a veterinary health risk to the country. 

“It should be noted that where a consignment is found to be non-compliant with import conditions, it would either be treated, destroyed or sent back to the country of origin,” Masiapato said. 

BMA environmental biosecurity specialists processed a total of 1,223 consignments under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) through the authority’s top 15 commercial ports of entry.

Masiapato added that port health specialists continued to screen travellers who entered the country for communicable diseases as they were entering South Africa. 

“In this regard, about 42 travellers were refused entry due to identified public health risks. About 24 suspected malaria cases were referred to public health facilities for further processing,” Masiapato said. 

He said port health specialists also processed a total of 986 permits for the movement of mortal remains, of which 44 were imported into the country, while 942 were exported out of the country.

Cape Times