Among 11 recent successes listed by Eastern Cape Joint Tactical HQ for the Operation Corona border protection tasking, one jumps out as being new in a list that normally comprises stolen vehicles, drugs and narcotics, livestock as well as “undocumented persons” (governmentese for illegal aliens).
According to Captain P.N. Mboniswa alcohol was “confiscated from a member that has no license to sell alcohol with an estimated value of R16 050”. No further information on which unit/regiment the soldier belongs to or where the illegal liquor was stored or sold. One for the military police!
The outcome of patrol (foot and mounted) as well as stop and search and other search operations saw an assortment of vehicles, ranging from minibus taxis to sedans and utility vehicles. Soldiers also confiscated 270kg of dagga, illegal cigarettes worth R350, tik worth R4 450, unbranded cattle, sheep, counterfeit medicine and cosmetics as well as what is termed “expired grocery” worth R100 000.
All told soldiers working the Eastern Cape/Lesotho border netted the cash equivalent of over R800 000 in the last week of May.
Further north on the South Africa/Mozambique border soldiers prevented a Toyota Hilux and Isuzu bakkie from illegally exiting South Africa with soldiers from the Macadamia base in Mpumalanga adding a third bakkie to the recovery list. Their contribution was a Ford Ranger double cab.