22 arrested during raid on factory employing illegal foreign nationals

The Citizen

07-07-2025

The factory had been operating with illegal connections to the municipal power grid after being previously disconnected for non-payment.
Home Affairs Deputy Minister Njabulo Nzuza on Monday revealed that law enforcement discovered weapons and ammunition during a raid on a Roodepoort factory allegedly employing illegal immigrants.
The factory, owned by a Chinese national, was raided during an operation that led to 22 arrests.
Police investigate factory and foreign nationals
The discovery of weapons has escalated the matter beyond immigration violations.
'There is a manager here who is not South African. They are busy trying to get them to open the safe because part of the thing that they found here is ammunition, weapons and all sorts of things which really point to a police matter now and the police are handling that particular matter,' Nzuza stated.
The deputy minister confirmed that authorities have identified the factory owner, who was not present during the raid.
'We know that they've already fingered the owner; they say it is the boss, and the boss is apparently in another suburb somewhere around here in Gauteng.
'We'll deal with that when we arrest that particular individual for transgressing the laws of employing illegal foreign nationals,' he said.
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Foreign nationals arrests and immigration violations
The operation resulted in significant arrests across multiple nationalities.
'We have so far arrested about 22 people. Out of those 22 people, one of them came in through a visitor's visa, but we find them working here. The others do not have any form of documentation. The majority of them, they are coming from Malawi, and others are Chinese nationals,' Nzuza explained.
'All the arrested people are being processed for deportation,' the deputy minister stated.
Appalling living conditions
Beyond the immigration violations, officials discovered disturbing living arrangements that raised concerns about worker exploitation.
The factory had been operating with illegal connections to the municipal power grid after being previously disconnected for non-payment.
Nzuza expressed particular concern about the treatment of workers.
'It would have been difficult for anyone to suspect that unlawful activities were taking place here because the managers and workers live and sleep in the factory.
'The people who are working here are also sleeping here, which means that they do not move up and down, which is more like a detainment kind of situation that we found. The gross living conditions are absolutely appalling for us,' he said.
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Operation new broom success
The raid was conducted as part of Operation New Broom, a multidisciplinary law enforcement initiative targeting illegal activities.
It was launched following intelligence received from community members who reported suspicious activities at the facility.
The deputy minister emphasised how the operation's success demonstrated the effectiveness of community cooperation with law enforcement.
He noted that the covert nature of the operation made detection particularly challenging, as the factory's workforce lived on-site, creating minimal external visibility of the illegal activities.
Strong warning to offenders
Nzuza used the successful operation to send a clear message to those operating outside the law.
'We want to send a strong message to all who are illegally residing and working in the country that we are coming for them,' he declared.
The deputy minister encouraged continued community vigilance, stating that authorities rely on public cooperation to identify and address illegal activities.
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