Drugs worth millions of rands are being smuggled into South Africa through the country's "unchecked" fishing harbours every day.
And authorities, while aware of the problem, seem to be doing very little about it.
Local and foreign drug dealers and syndicates are believed to be using small open sea ports and fishing harbours to import drugs, illegal goods and counterfeit merchandise.
Police say mandrax is the most popular drug being imported from China, followed by cocaine from South America.
But the national narcotics head for organised crime, Senior Superintendent Deven Naicker, says there are just too many containers entering the harbours and it was difficult to have every container checked.
He said about 2,5-million containers entered the country's harbours every year.
"We have thousands of staff members and security, but there are just so many containers. We've had a lot of successes, but we need container scanners at every harbour."
Presently Durban is the only harbour with a container scanner.
Knysna residents say private and commercial yachts and vessels pass and enter the small harbour every day without being searched or checked.
A resident who lives close to the harbour, and asked not to be named, said if incoming boats (private and commercial) were checked regularly the drug supply problem would be halved.
She said it was "open sea" in Knysna and the community was suffering because of it.
Drugs and counterfeit goods are also said to be much cheaper and freely available in the Garden Route town. "The drugs only pass through one or two hands here before they get to the client and that's why it's much cheaper," she said.
Knysna harbour master Herbie Kostens confirmed that not all boats and fishing vessels were checked and searched - they were checked only if the authorities had had a tip-off. "There is no policing of fishing vessels and boats here," he said.
Kostens said setting up a dedicated policing unit was not the answer. "If the police do check every boat, it will only last for about three weeks and then they'll stop and the problem continues."
Hout Bay harbour is another of the country's many unchecked ports.
Owner of the Harbour Master B&B, Ron van Nijkerk, said people were often arrested for being out at sea illegally, especially at night.
He told Weekend Argus drug smuggling was rampant.
"Nothing is being done to monitor who enters and exits the harbour," said Van Nijkerk. "People go out to sea at night for other things. Poaching is also still rife."
Hout Bay's acting harbour mistress, who refused to give her name, simply referred all questions to Marine and Coastal Management.
But MCM spokesperson Carol Moses said their responsibility was to protect marine resources and not to apprehend drug smugglers. Harbour masters were fully responsible for their own harbours.
In his 2005 paper entitled "Drug smuggling and border control at Johannesburg International Airport and Durban Harbour", author Jonny Steinberg described the relationship between border control agencies and drug smugglers as a "simple cat-and-mouse game".
"Indeed, it is fair to say that a mouse who gets caught is either ill-equipped to evade detection or unlucky," he said.
"Across the world, border control agents only search a small fraction of cargo and passengers. At Durban harbour, less than 1 percent of cargo containers are searched. At Johannesburg International Airport, the official figure is 3-5 percent of incoming cargo."
Meanwhile National Ports Authority spokesperson Pieter Smit said all seven South African commercial ports - Richards Bay, Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth, Mossel Bay, Cape Town and Saldanha - were compliant with the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code.
The code ensures vessels are checked and inspected regularly, that all port security operational procedures are followed, and that crime prevention strategies are implemented.
In November, it was reported that 90 percent of drugs came into the country undetected, while just 10 percent were seized by police. - Cape Argus
And authorities, while aware of the problem, seem to be doing very little about it.
Local and foreign drug dealers and syndicates are believed to be using small open sea ports and fishing harbours to import drugs, illegal goods and counterfeit merchandise.
| Mandrax is the most popular drug being imported from China |
But the national narcotics head for organised crime, Senior Superintendent Deven Naicker, says there are just too many containers entering the harbours and it was difficult to have every container checked.
He said about 2,5-million containers entered the country's harbours every year.
"We have thousands of staff members and security, but there are just so many containers. We've had a lot of successes, but we need container scanners at every harbour."
Presently Durban is the only harbour with a container scanner.
| 'Nothing is being done to monitor who enters and exits the harbour' |
A resident who lives close to the harbour, and asked not to be named, said if incoming boats (private and commercial) were checked regularly the drug supply problem would be halved.
She said it was "open sea" in Knysna and the community was suffering because of it.
Drugs and counterfeit goods are also said to be much cheaper and freely available in the Garden Route town. "The drugs only pass through one or two hands here before they get to the client and that's why it's much cheaper," she said.Knysna harbour master Herbie Kostens confirmed that not all boats and fishing vessels were checked and searched - they were checked only if the authorities had had a tip-off. "There is no policing of fishing vessels and boats here," he said.
Kostens said setting up a dedicated policing unit was not the answer. "If the police do check every boat, it will only last for about three weeks and then they'll stop and the problem continues."
Hout Bay harbour is another of the country's many unchecked ports.
Owner of the Harbour Master B&B, Ron van Nijkerk, said people were often arrested for being out at sea illegally, especially at night.
He told Weekend Argus drug smuggling was rampant.
"Nothing is being done to monitor who enters and exits the harbour," said Van Nijkerk. "People go out to sea at night for other things. Poaching is also still rife."
Hout Bay's acting harbour mistress, who refused to give her name, simply referred all questions to Marine and Coastal Management.
But MCM spokesperson Carol Moses said their responsibility was to protect marine resources and not to apprehend drug smugglers. Harbour masters were fully responsible for their own harbours.
In his 2005 paper entitled "Drug smuggling and border control at Johannesburg International Airport and Durban Harbour", author Jonny Steinberg described the relationship between border control agencies and drug smugglers as a "simple cat-and-mouse game".
"Indeed, it is fair to say that a mouse who gets caught is either ill-equipped to evade detection or unlucky," he said.
"Across the world, border control agents only search a small fraction of cargo and passengers. At Durban harbour, less than 1 percent of cargo containers are searched. At Johannesburg International Airport, the official figure is 3-5 percent of incoming cargo."
Meanwhile National Ports Authority spokesperson Pieter Smit said all seven South African commercial ports - Richards Bay, Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth, Mossel Bay, Cape Town and Saldanha - were compliant with the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code.
The code ensures vessels are checked and inspected regularly, that all port security operational procedures are followed, and that crime prevention strategies are implemented.
In November, it was reported that 90 percent of drugs came into the country undetected, while just 10 percent were seized by police. - Cape Argus
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