A 42-year-old Mozambican national has been sentenced to five years in prison after he was caught carrying 16 passports belonging to people who were not present at the Lebombo Border Post.
Carlos David Mlambo was travelling from Mozambique towards the Lebombo Border Post on 30 July when Immigration Security officials stopped and searched him during a routine inspection.
The officials discovered 16 Mozambican passports in his possession.
According to Mpumalanga NPA spokesperson Monica Nyuswa, Mlambo admitted that the passports had been entrusted to him in Mozambique.
He told officials that he had been instructed to have the passports stamped at both the Mozambican and South African border posts before returning them to their lawful owners in KwaZulu-Natal.
The case was initially enrolled at the Komatipoort Magistrate’s Court before being transferred to the Boschfontein Regional Court, where Mlambo pleaded guilty.
State Advocate Beauty Afrika argued in aggravation of sentence that offences of this nature undermine the state’s efforts to regulate migration and maintain the integrity of border management systems.
Nyuswa said the unlawful handling of travel documents weakens compliance with immigration laws, erodes public confidence in lawful migration processes and creates opportunities for further abuse of the immigration system.
Mlambo was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, with two years suspended for three years on condition that he is not convicted of a similar offence during the suspension period.
The court also ordered that the 16 passports be referred to the Department of Home Affairs for further investigation and verification of the immigration stamps and endorsements contained in the documents.
Nyuswa commended the Immigration Security officials for their vigilance and professionalism, saying their swift action led to the detection of the offence and subsequent prosecution.
She said the successful prosecution demonstrated the NPA and its law enforcement partners’ commitment to protecting the integrity of South Africa’s borders, safeguarding lawful immigration processes and ensuring accountability for conduct that threatens immigration control
