Johannesburg - A cargo truck, transporting 40 illegal Ethiopian nationals to South Africa has been intercepted by Botswana authorities at the Ngwasha gate near Nata village on Thursday.
According to Mmegi online, the truck driver and the 40 individuals are currently being held in Nata while the matter is under investigation.
Senior Superintendent Kabo Badirwang, commanding district officer said the truck carrying the Ethiopian men has been stopped and inquiries into how the men got from Ethiopia to Botswana are still ongoing
Badirwang further told Mmegi online that the language barriers were making it difficult for police to understand the circumstances.
In a separate incident last week, 67 illegal Pakistani foreigners were intercepted at OR Tambo International Airport after failing immigration tests during a sting operation led by the Department of Home Affairs Counter Corruption Branch, the Hawks, the State Security Agency, and the Border Management Authority (BMA)
The Pakistani foreigners with questionable visas are said to have been on a flight of 268 passengers that departed for South Africa from Dubai.
Aaron Motsoaledi, Home Affairs Minister said: “This is a result of a sting operation that was put together after observing certain trends that were suspicious and did not make sense.”
“They were interviewed by immigration officers and they were asked about where they were going and about the purpose of being in South Africa and where they were going to stay given that they were coming here for the first time. They provided conflicting evidence like giving names of non-existent hotels, names of alleged relatives, some of whom did not even exist,”
The foreigners have since been deported back to their country following this incident.
“Essentially, these people wanted to come to South Africa but were unable to explain where they were going and for what reason. There is no other way. They have to return to their home country. We can’t allow such people to enter the country,” Motsoaledi said.
IOL