Africa-Press – Lesotho. As the festive season gets underway, border authorities in Lesotho and South Africa (SA) have heightened security measures, leading to the disruption of an alleged human trafficking attempt at OR Tambo International Airport on Thursday.
According to the Acting Commissioner of South Africa’s Border Management Authority (BMA), Jane Thupana, a total of 14 Ethiopian and 16 Bangladeshi nationals were stopped by immigration and border enforcement teams at the airport.
BMA spokesperson Mmemme Mogotsi explained that the first group, 14 Ethiopians, consisting of nine men and five women, was intercepted upon arrival on an Ethiopian Airlines flight. In a separate incident, 16 Bangladeshi men were detained after officials found they were travelling with fraudulent visas.
She noted that officers became suspicious when the travellers’ stated itineraries did not align with their actual movements. Although they claimed to be transiting through the airport, evidence suggested they were attempting to re-enter South Africa.
Mogotsi added that attempts to cross borders illegally and incidents linked to organised crime tend to increase during this time of the year.
Tier two of the 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report has shown that ‘’In Lesotho, traffickers exploit Basotho children, especially orphans, in forced labour in domestic servitude and animal herding and in sex trafficking. Girls employed in domestic work are vulnerable to forced labour and abuse.’’
