Mbombela security, SAPS zero in on illegal immigrants
Divergent Ops was recently called in by the Nelspruit SAPS to assist in an operation that saw 19 illegal immigrants and their caretaker arrested.
A Bangladeshi man was arrested alongside 19 illegal immigrants who he had been harbouring at a house in KaMagugu on Monday afternoon, February 27.
The arrests were a result of a multidisciplinary operation.
The task team consisted of Divergent Ops, the Nelspruit-based Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation team, Crime Intelligence Nelspruit, provincial detectives, the Nelspruit Visible Policing team and the Local Criminal Record Centre.
An initial statement by a provincial police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, said that the 19 foreign nationals were believed to have been trafficked and had been en route to Middelburg and Johannesburg for work.
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A statement by the provincial spokesperson for the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations (Hawks), Captain Dineo Sekgotodi, said a 45-year-old Bangladeshi man, identified by law enforcement as the caretaker, was arrested and charged for harbouring 19 illegal immigrants – 14 Bangladeshis and five Pakistanis.
Sekgotodi said 18 passports, 27 cellphones, some chargers and cables were recovered.
The suspects, aged between 23 and 40, had passports that had not been stamped within South African borders.
They were arrested and charged for contravention of the Immigration Act, and appeared in the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday March 1.
It was unclear when the caretaker was expected in court.
A Divergent Ops officer spoke to Lowvelder about the operation on condition of anonymity, saying his life and the lives of others involved were at risk following the arrests.
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He said a SAPS team entered the yard just after 16:30, while Divergent Ops and a few police members entered the garage. The remaining SAPS members secured the front door and side of the house.
He said they moved through the garage, noticed movement in the house and called for someone to open up. A man eventually opened the gate and was immediately detained. He was later identified as the caretaker.
The Divergent Ops officer said the security team was in the frontline of the operation and secured the kitchen before the SAPS followed. After securing the living room and passageway, the two bedrooms were reached, where 19 men were found lying down on a tiled floor.
“All of their cellphones were in a black plastic bag, and kept away from them. From the information we managed to obtain from one of the foreign nationals, they were not allowed access to their phones.”
The officer said each man had a small backpack containing their passport and a limited amount of clothing.
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“The house was filthy inside. The kitchen was overrun with cockroaches and flies. There was a bowl of rice on the kitchen counter, but no other food in the house.
“All the curtains and windows were closed. We would assume that this was done to ensure people from the outside could not see inside.
“Divergent Ops will definitely be involved with many more such situations going forward. We are not your average security company and we strive for special operations along with SAPS and other key role players to ensure that we progress in the fight against crime,” he said.
