Mozambique and Eswatini were the largest unofficial drug exporters to South Africa in August, according to statistics supplied by the Joint Operations Division of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF).
Statistics released by the Directorate Corporate Communication (DCC) reveal Mozambicans carrying narcotics valued at R2.7 million were intercepted by soldiers patrolling the Mozambique/Mpumalanga borders last month. Soldiers in KwaZulu-Natal along the Mozambique and Eswatini borders seized narcotics worth R7 million from smugglers and drug mules.
Other drug busts reported for Operation Corona by SA Army provincial joint tactical headquarters in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo provinces totalled R88 000. The major contributor was Zimbabwe with R66 000 worth seized.
Contraband confiscations – again not specified but normally cigarettes, liquor, pharmaceuticals as well as fake branded clothing and footwear – were confined to the Eswatini, Mozambique and Zimbabwe borders. The total estimated value, as per Joint Ops, is R3.8 million with Mozambique leading the pack on R3.4 million followed by Zimbabwe (R377 000) and Eswatini a distant third on R66 426.
The flow of illegal immigrants to South Africa in August was 839 – 71 less than in July. The 387 Zimbabweans handed to police and Department of Home Affairs (DHA) immigration officials was the single highest for the month followed by 247 Mozambicans.
Other successes for August include R1.2 million worth of livestock recovered; 16 criminals arrested; stolen vehicles worth R1.2 million recovered in Mpumalanga and Limpopo; and R16 000 worth of firearms seized.
It is known that two units – SA Army Reserve Force unit, Durban Light Infantry (DLI) and 8 SA Infantry (SAI) Battalion from Upington – ended their Operation Corona duties at the end of August. DLI was tasked with patrolling the Lesotho/South Africa border in KwaZulu-Natal with the Northern Cape soldiers deployed along the KwaZulu-Natal/Mpumalanga border with Eswatini and Mozambique. Their replacements come from Middelburg, Mpumalanga-based 4 SAI.
