Watch: 7 Foreign Drivers Arrested, 14 Abnormal Trucks Seized in KZN Crime Blitz

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KwaZulu-Natal’s road policing authorities have turned up the heat on lawlessness in the trucking sector, impounding 14 abnormal load trucks and detaining seven foreign truck drivers in a major enforcement blitz under the provincial government’s #NenzaniLaEzweni operation.

The dramatic sting, led by the Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) and announced by MEC for Transport and Human Settlements Siboniso Duma at the Mkhondeni RTI Testing Centre on Tuesday, exposed what authorities believe could be one of the biggest cross-border smuggling rackets operating on South African highways.

Of the detained truck drivers, four were found to be undocumented and have since been taken into custody, while the documents of the remaining three are under verification. The arrested drivers hail from Malawi (4), Zimbabwe (2) and Zambia (1).

Officials say the trucks were transporting undeclared and unverified goods, potentially robbing the state of more than R200 000 in revenue in just two hours. Investigators estimate that the syndicate may be bleeding between R2 million and R3 million per month through similar illegal activities.

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“This is exactly the kind of rot we vowed to root out,” said MEC Duma. “I instructed RTI last week to show no mercy to undocumented foreign drivers — and they’ve delivered. These individuals are breaking the law, stealing from our economy and putting the safety of South Africans at risk.”

Read | Duma Cracks Down on Undocumented Foreign Truck Drivers as Transport Month Kicks Off

The crackdown uncovered a range of violations, including:

• Foreign drivers operating without valid permits.
• Permits that do not match the load specifications.
• Absence of valid work permits.
• Lack of Professional Driving Permits (PrDPs).

The MEC warned that companies behind these illegal operations will soon be named and shamed, as the province intensifies its fight against illicit goods transportation, drug smuggling, human trafficking, and other cross-border crimes.

“With the support of Home Affairs and the Department of Health, we are cleaning up our roads,” Duma added. “South Africa’s highways are not a playground for criminals — and we’re shutting them down.”