AT least 380 Zimbabweans and Malawians were recently
arrested in South Africa for allegedly violating the immigration laws.
They failed to produce documentation authorising their stay
in South Africa when police raided a 21-storey building they were occupying at
Hillbrow, Johannesburg.
South Africa Police Services (SAPS) established that the
21-storey building in question had since been grabbed from the rightful owner
by some three criminals.
SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said that
three suspects — two women and a man — were arrested for taking over the
building.
Brig Peters said the arrested Malawians and Zimbabweans
were taken for processing and verification of their stay in South Africa.
“A total of 380 (353 males and 27 females) undocumented
nationals from Malawi and Zimbabwe, including those caught during roadblocks
and in other operations, were taken in for processing and verification of their
stay in the country,” he said.
“To this end, six Malawian nationals — four juveniles and
two pregnant women — were released pending their appearance before immigration
authorities to prepare for their direct deportation.
“Meanwhile, police were also able to trace 124 suspects on
whom warrants of arrests were executed for a range of crimes.”
Brig Peters said roadblocks were mounted at strategic
points in all the five districts in the province and saw a few unroadworthy cars
being impounded and fines imposed for contravention of road traffic regulations.
At least 2 865 Zimbabweans were arrested in South Africa
for committing various criminal offences between 2016 and this year, a
situation that left Zimbabwe with the highest number of arrested nationals in
the neighbouring country
According to statistics by the Johannesburg Metro Police
Department posted last weekend, Zimbabwe had the highest number of arrested
nationals during the past three years.
The statistics were posted recently by the outgoing
Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba.
SAPS arrested the 2 865 Zimbabweans in the period in
question, while Nigerians were second with 765 arrests.
SAPS also arrested 420 Malawians, 334 Tanzanians and 91
Ugandans.
The highest number of Zimbabweans were arrested for driving
under the influence of alcohol, while others were arrested for theft and
possession of counterfeit goods.
At least 691 of the Zimbabweans were arrested for murder,
while 37 were nabbed for bribing South African officers.
Meanwhile, more than 30 Zimbabwean women suspected to be
victims of human trafficking were also rescued by South African police from
brothels in eMalahleni, formerly Witbank, in Mpumalanga Province where their
captors used them as sex slaves.
According to reports, the Zimbabweans were part of a group
of 50 victims, among them males, from other countries which included the
Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria. Herald
0 comments:
Post a Comment