10 undocumented foreign nationals arrested during police raid
The arrests were made under Operation Heatwave, the latest SAPS campaign ahead of the festive season.
Undocumented immigrant workers at the plastic manufacturing facility have been taken into custody. It has been verified that they are from Malawi. Picture: Jabulile Mbatha/ Eyewitness News
JOHANNESBURG - Ten undocumented foreign nationals have been arrested during a raid by Gauteng's South African Police Service (SAPS) members in Pretoria's industrial section.
The arrests were made under Operation Heatwave, the latest SAPS campaign ahead of the festive season.
A multidisciplinary team is visiting Pretoria West to look at different forms of criminal contraventions.
A germ-infested abandoned building is where an illegal plastic manufacturing factory was discovered during the police’s operation.
With few windows and no fire extinguishers on site, police say the factory poses a fire hazard.
Humongous piles of used plastics were found lying around. Moreover, several plastic machines were found producing bags for retailers.
The deputy provincial Police Commissioner, Major General Kekana, says they are looking to arrest the owner as soon as possible.
"The owner is known. We will be able to trace the owner and I can assure you tomorrow [Thursday] by 14:00 the owner will be in police cells at the latest. It can be anytime from now. We arrested 10 undocumented persons. All of them come from one country - Malawi. One can’t even speak an inch of any language including English and that’s also a worrying trend."
He says a case of human trafficking will also be investigated.
The Gauteng SAPS is leading the interdisciplinary operation, Operation Heatwave, which is now taking place in Pretoria West and is primarily focused on criminality.
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) December 11, 2024
The first stop is the African Spares Motor Vehicle Dealer, where stolen cars were discovered.@Jay_Mbatha pic.twitter.com/ZkTSsHBol1