MBABANE – National Commissioner of Police Vusi Manoma Masango says no one, regardless of political influence or office, will be spared if implicated in the online gambling investigation.
Responding to allegations that investigations had slowed because senior politicians and government officials were allegedly linked to the syndicate, Masango insisted the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) feared no one.
“No individual is above the law, regardless of rank or political influence and we do not fear them,” he said. Speaking on the investigation, the commissioner dismissed suggestions that police had become reluctant to act because influential people were allegedly involved.
In vernacular, he declared: “Asibesabi!” (‘We do not fear them.’) Masango said officers would arrest anyone found to have broken the law, irrespective of the office they occupied.
He stressed that public office did not place anyone beyond the reach of the law, adding that even he would be arrested if evidence showed he had committed a criminal offence.
The commissioner acknowledged that criminal investigations involved several institutions and said progress could be influenced by court processes. He said police worked closely with prosecutors and the Judiciary, adding that delays should not be mistaken for a lack of commitment by investigators.
Despite these challenges, Masango said police would persevere until investigations were completed.
He added that dismantling the alleged online gambling syndicate had earned Eswatini international recognition and that law enforcement intended to build on that success.
Last month, INTERPOL identified Eswatini among countries that contributed to Operation First Light 2026, a global anti-fraud operation that intercepted illicit assets worth US$293 million (about E4.81 billion) and resulted in the arrest of 5 811 suspects across 97 countries and territories.
Masango said the operation demonstrated what could be achieved when government institutions and international partners worked together against organised crime.
He said Eswatini’s contribution was singled out for praise by INTERPOL Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza during a recent international meeting. According to Masango, the secretary general said intelligence generated in Eswatini assisted investigations beyond the country’s borders. “He indicated that the work done in Eswatini resulted in further arrests in other countries,” Masango said.
He said Cambodia was among the countries where about 200 suspects linked to similar criminal operations were reportedly arrested following intelligence developed during the investigation.
Masango also revealed that investigators had identified some of the people allegedly defrauded by suspects operating from Eswatini.
Although the alleged syndicate operated from within the kingdom, he said its victims were located in several countries, highlighting the transnational nature of the operation.
“The country was being used as a theatre of operation, but the victims were in other jurisdictions. Some of those victims have now been identified through the investigations,” he said.
Last month, this publication revealed that fresh investigations into the alleged illegal online gambling syndicate had uncovered links to senior politicians, police officers and immigration officials.
Investigators believe some of the individuals assisted the alleged criminal enterprise to operate without detection.
The allegations are contained in court papers filed before the High Court after members of REPS, working with INTERPOL forensic specialists and other international law enforcement agencies, extracted information from more than 400 electronic devices seized during coordinated raids earlier this year.
The devices, including mobile phones, laptops, desktop computers and tablets, were confiscated from several premises, among them Castle Hotel in Mbabane, where police allege one of the syndicate’s main command centres was based.
Investigators say the forensic examination has expanded what initially appeared to be an illegal online gambling investigation into an international organised crime probe spanning several continents.
According to Detective Constable Ntokozo Dlamini of the Organised Crime Unit, a member of the Multi-Agency Task Team investigating the matter, evidence extracted from the devices allegedly reveals a sophisticated criminal organisation targeting victims in Brazil and India while operating illegal online gambling platforms from Eswatini.
In an affidavit filed before the High Court, Detective Constable Dlamini states that investigators identified what appears to be links between the alleged criminal enterprise and individuals occupying positions of authority.
He says the extracted evidence allegedly includes Telegram and WhatsApp conversations involving senior politicians, police officials, immigration officials and other individuals.
The latest findings have widened investigations that began after police raids targeted foreign nationals suspected of operating illegal online gambling businesses from premises in Mbabane and Ezulwini.
