Friday, February 14, 2025

Multi-Choice on campaign to seize illegal decoders

Multi-Choice Botswana in collaboration with Botswana Communication Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) have embarked on a cleanup campaign aimed at confiscating scores of Multi-Choice decoders that were bought in South Africa and are being sold in Botswana illegally.

Reports indicate that recently there was an influx of South African decoders in Botswana,

Recently Police raided a house in Phakalane and confiscated more than 20 decoders and arrested two suspects believed to be smuggling such decoders in to the country.

Information passed to Sunday Standard suggests the “cleanup”  by BOCRA and Multi -Choice started last Wednesday in which two suspects were arrested and more than 20 decoders were sized from the alleged suspects.

It is understood that Multi-Choice Botswana has been secretly profiling shops, agents and individuals that sell such decoders in bulk and smuggle them into Botswana where the market is lucrative.

Assistant Superintendent Thalina Mogaga of the Serious Crime Squad of the Botswana Police Service has confirmed to this publication that they have raided a certain residential house in Phakalane where multi choice decoders were illegally sold.

She said during the raid two male suspects’ aged 30 were arrested after police seized about 24 decoders believed to be sold illegally in Botswana.

“Though the investigations are still at the infant stage, I do not rule out the possibility that the number of suspects might also increase as well as the number of decoders as the investigations intensifies,” he said .

She explained that as the police they received a complaint from BOCRA alleging that there are some people who are illegally selling Multi-Choice decoders that they buy in bulk in South Africa and later sell them in Botswana without any license. She said this has become a lucrative business for the suspects.

“Surprisingly this is not the first time we arrested the alleged two suspect’s in-connection with the similar offense” she said.

Contacted for comment Operations Manager of Multi-Choice Botswana Ramlelwane Makubate briefly said “it is too early to comment as the matter is being handled by the police.”

She added that “At the juncture I would not want to be drawn in this issue as that might somehow compromise the investigations.”

Efforts to contact BOCRA were futile.

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