Over the past two weeks alone, drone surveillance has led to the arrest of 112 individuals involved in facilitating illegal migration into the country.

Commissioner of the BMA, Michael Masiapato, shared the developments during the Africa Border Security Week currently underway in Cape Town. He noted that the unmanned aerial vehicles have allowed response teams to operate more efficiently along vulnerable segments of South Africa’s land borders.

“The drones were able to enable us to arrest around 112 facilitators,” said Masiapato. “These are the individuals that had been causing a lot of illegal migration into the country from our neighbouring countries, particularly from Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and Mozambique.”

According to Masiapato, the suspects are now facing prosecution under SA law. “All of those facilitators, as we arrested them, we brought them into the country, opened cases against them for aiding and abetting at the respective police stations, and as we speak, they are facing the might of the law according to Section 49.2 of the Immigration Act,” he said.

The commissioner emphasised that the use of drones is part of a broader strategy to tighten border controls and improve national security.


--ChannelAfrica--