Border policing in Mpumalanga is making it difficult for criminals to exploit South African borderlines and ports of entry for cross-border crimes, stated Captain Magonseni Nkosi, a provisional police spokesperson.
Recently, the Nerston and Mahamba border policing task team successfully recovered a Toyota Corolla, reported stolen from Komani (Queenstown) in December 2010.
Shortly thereafter, border policing at the Oshoek Port of Entry seized another Toyota Corolla on March 2 at approximately 14:00, after discovering that its vehicle identification number (VIN) had been tampered with during vehicle verifications.
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The vehicle, en route to the Kingdom of Eswatini and driven by a South African national, was seized for further investigation as a physical check revealed alterations to the vehicle’s firewall, raising suspicions of VIN tampering.
In a separate incident, the Jeppes Reef border policing task team arrested a 36-year-old man from the Kingdom of Eswatini for the unlawful possession of 2.35kg of dagga, valued at approximately R9 870.
The arrest occurred on the western side of the border, as the suspect entered South Africa without proper documents.
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The individual faces charges related to the unlawful possession of dagga and violations of the Immigration Act.