Johannesburg – A second group of foreign nationals wanting to enter South Africa have been busted at the OR Tambo International Airport (ORTIA) for using fake visas.
Authorities intercepted 10 Bangladeshis on Saturday, (1 June 2024), when they arrived on a Qatar Airways flight.
They were found to have fake visas purportedly issued by the South African High Commission, in New Delhi, India.
One had a fake visa supposedly issued by the Department of Home Affairs.
The weekend incident follows a similar one the previous week, (25 May 2024), when immigration officials at ORTIA intercepted 28 travellers from Bangladesh over fake visas.
The Bangladeshis, who arrived on a flight from Dubai, were all denied entry into South Africa after authorities found that 27 of them had fake visas. One did not have a visa.
Commenting on the fake visa trend, Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) commended the Border Management Authority (BMA) for the detection of a group of foreign nationals who arrived in Johannesburg without the proper documentation.
ACSA Regional General Manager Jabulani Khambule said: “This latest successful interception of illegal travellers by the BMA demonstrates the importance of our multi-agency safety and security approach throughout our environment to enhance airport and aviation security in general.
“We have rolled out this aviation security model that is vertically and horizontally integrated with various law enforcement authorities to root out criminality across our airports.
“The latest interception is yet another great result stemming from the collective efforts of various stakeholders at national key points to ensure that, by working together, our country’s points of entry are kept safe.”
