BMA hinders suspected human trafficking operations at O.R. Tambo International Airport

The Border Management Authority (BMA) has disrupted suspected human trafficking operations at O.R. Tambo International Airport.

Fourteen Ethiopians and sixteen Bangladeshi nationals were intercepted on Thursday.

The BMA said these interventions form part of its intensified efforts to combat human trafficking, irregular migration and transnational organised crime, particularly during the festive season peak.

"In the first incident, on 11 December, fourteen Ethiopian nationals, comprising five males and nine females, were intercepted upon arrival. They were all travelling on an Ethiopian Airlines flight. Their interception followed the BMA’s analysis of passenger details, which flagged their movement pattern as suspicious."

Mogotsi said preliminary investigations revealed a modus operandi commonly used in human trafficking syndicates, where individuals attempt to transit through South Africa en route to neighbouring countries, and later re-enter South Africa.

"In a separate incident, sixteen Bangladeshi males were intercepted after BMA officials discovered that they were in possession of fraudulent visas. The group arrived on another Ethiopian airline flight and were identified after officers noticed them blending suspiciously among South African travellers in the maze area."