BMA vows to keep South Africa’s borders free from organised crime

Commissioner of the Border Management Authority (BMA), Dr Michael Masiapato, says they remain committed to ensuring that South Africa’s borders are not used as channels for organised crime and illicit trafficking.

Masiapato briefed the media today alongside Home Affairs Minister, Leon Schrieber, providing an update on the country’s 71 ports of entry and border law enforcement operations.

The briefing comes on the back of a major drug bust at the Beitbridge Port of Entry this week, where three suspects were arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle more than 700,000 kilograms of substances identified as ABBA, which is used in the manufacture mandrax.

The suspects, a man and woman from Malawi and another man from Zambia, appeared in the Musina Magistrate’s Court today after authorities discovered the substance in a Malawi-registered truck they were travelling in. The drugs have an estimated street value of nearly R1 billion.

The matter was postponed to 5 June to secure a Chewa language interpreter and to verify the identities of the accused.

Masiapato says investigations are continuing to determine the intended destination of the drugs and whether the operation forms part of a broader regional or global criminal syndicate.

“This interception is not merely about the seizure of drugs. It 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,” he said. “We will not stop until these syndicates are disrupted, dismantled, and deprived of every opportunity to operate within our borders.”

The commissioner added that drug trafficking destroys communities, fuels violence, enables corruption, and threatens the well being of  young people.

“The BMA cannot win this fight alone. The complexity of 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.”

The R1 billion drug bust by the BMA as a result of our intelligence-led and digital reforms, is part of restoring hope that SA is capable of solving even our most long-standing problems. This breakthrough motivates us to drive even deeper reforms in civics and immigration 🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/IVXr2RaIXZ

— Leon Schreiber (@Leon_Schreib) May 29, 2026

Voting for Nigerians to come and destroy our country with drugs. Yesterday a drug bust of 1 billion wealth of drugs was intercepted and those drugs was coming to our country. You have your president who is calling for open borders. U will never hear him address the issue of drugs

— Sthembiso Khwela (@SthembisoKhwela) May 29, 2026

Something so suspicious about the timing of this R1 Billion drug bust at the border. I can’t prove anything now, but I think it’s a precursor for Home affairs to get some gnarly Israeli surveillance technology. Remember they doing a R6billion dry run in Cape Town.

— 011Shiesty (@011Shiesty) May 29, 2026