By Alicia Mmashakana
Forty-one (41) undocumented Mozambicans – including two taxi drivers, a bakkie driver, 38 passengers whose ages range between 17 to 40 – appeared before the Barberton Magistrates Court on Monday facing charges of violating the Immigration Act.
The Mozambicans were arrested after police crime intelligence received a tip off about two taxis transporting undocumented people from Mozambique heading to Johannesburg. They were apprehended near Kaapmuiden, Mpumalanga, on Friday.
Mpumalanga Hawks spokesperson Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi said Kaapmuiden SAPS, Local Criminal Record Centre and Border Police, followed up on the information and the taxis were spotted, stopped and searched on the N4 next to Kaapmuiden.
During the search, a total of 16 women travelling with 10 toddlers, four teenage girls and 15 men were found without proper documentation, she said.
Sekgotodi said the suspects were charged and detained on allegations of kidnapping, aiding, abetting and contravention of Immigration Act respectively.
The 15 males were remanded to 20 August for Legal aid representatives, and the 10 women together with toddlers were also remanded in custody and their case was postponed to Tuesday, for age determination and Legal Aid.
The cases against the minors were not dealt with, pending the availability of probation officers and social workers.
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has called for a greater vigilance in engaging the challenges and realities facing the issue of foreign nationals entering the country illegally.
“South Africa needs to do much more to combat illegal immigration. It is central to our national security, also out of our commitment to economic growth,” Schreiber said.
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