South Africa turns to high-tech drones to stem migrant flow

People queue to return to Zimbabwe at the Beitbridge border crossing in South Africa on October 5, 2023.

Photo credit: AFP

South Africa may have finally found a solution to the influx of illegal immigrants across its vast borders, using drones to intercept undocumented immigrants trying to enter the country through various illegal crossing points, including a crocodile-infested river.

Over the Easter holidays, the country’s Border Management Authority (BMA) said it intercepted 1,000 people trying to enter the country illegally through the Beitbridge border with Zimbabwe.