Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber has commended the officials at the Beitbridge port of entry who successfully intercepted a truck carrying drugs with a street value of almost R1 billion earlier this week.
Addressing a media briefing in Pretoria on Friday, Schreiber said the interception was a product of sustained reforms that are steadily rebuilding the country’s capabilities to secure the borders and restore the rule of law.
“The singular breakthrough vividly demonstrates that our investments into intelligence - driven work, modern technology, digital transformation and building a new organisational culture exemplified by Border Management Authority (BMA) personnel is improving in the security environment at our ports of entry,” Schreiber said.
He said for too long organised criminal syndicates treated South Africa’s border posts as a weak point that could be exploited for the trafficking of drugs and illicit goods and undocumented persons and other forms of transnational crimes.
“The interception of the truck is not by accident, it is because of meticulous reform that government is driving every day across BMA and Home Affairs ecosystem,” he said.
BMA Commissioner, Dr Michael Masiapato, explained that the truck was subjected to a non-intrusive inspection using advanced cargo scanning technology.
“Through the vigilance, commitment, and professionalism of our officials and partner law enforcement agencies, a drug substance identified as ABBA, also known as methaqualone and commonly used in the manufacturing of mandrax, was discovered concealed within the truck,” Masiapato said.
He said after a thorough search, authorities confirmed that the consignment weighed approximately 713 000 grams, with an estimated street value of R998.2 million.
“The consignment was packed in individual packages, each weighing just over 25kg. This represents one of South Africa’s largest drug busts executed to date since the BMA was established in 2023,” Masiapato said.
Three suspects - two Malawi nationals, one male and a female, as well as one Zambian male - have been arrested and are currently detained at the Musina Police Station.
“Investigations are ongoing to determine the intended destination of the drugs and whether this operation forms part of a broader regional or global criminal syndicate.
“Authorities are also pursuing all available leads to identify the origin of the consignment, the individuals involved in its transportation and coordination and any possible links to transnational organised crime networks,” he said.
This interception represents a decisive intervention against “criminal networks that seek to exploit our ports of entry to undermine the safety, stability and future of our country and the region”.
Masiapato said the authority will not stop until these syndicates are disrupted, dismantled and deprived of every opportunity to operate within the country’s borders.
“Our resolve remains firm, to strengthen border law enforcement, enhance intelligence-led operations, and ensure that every port of entry becomes a point of control, not a point of compromise.
“Drug trafficking destroys communities, fuels violence, enables corruption, and threatens the wellbeing of our young people. It also undermines economic growth,” he said.
Masiapato said complex transnational organised crime requires a unified front that brings together border law enforcement, customs authorities, policing structures and security and intelligence services working as one system of national defence.
“This level of collaboration where we are able to conduct massive interceptions ensures that gaps are closed, duplication is minimised and enforcement efforts are strengthened through shared capability and expertise.” – SAnews.gov.za
