Mbabane – Sixteen Brazilian nationals have approached the High Court seeking the return of cash, luxury watches, vehicles and other personal belongings seized during their arrest for immigration offences earlier this year.
The group has filed an urgent application against the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), asking the court to exclude their property from a preservation order granted on June 5, 2026, under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA).
According to court papers filed under Case No. 1322/2026, the applicants contend that their belongings were wrongly included in a preservation order obtained in proceedings involving Tao Joseph Lyu and Longet Zhang, despite having no connection to either individual or any organised crime investigation.
The applicants were arrested on March 11, 2026, during an immigration operation at the Castle Hotel. They later pleaded guilty to immigration offences, each paid a fine of E500 and were released. They have since left Eswatini.
Through their attorney, Noncedo Ndlangamandla, the group argues that there is no legal basis for the continued detention of their property because their immigration cases have been concluded and they were never charged with offences under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.
The property they seek to recover includes six vehicles: a black BMW 3 Series, a white BMW 3 Series, a red Range Rover Sport, a white Volkswagen Microbus, a white Volkswagen Amarok and a white Toyota Fortuner.
They are also seeking the return of two Rolex wristwatches, a Blake Fleeto clutch bag, a black safe, mobile phones, laptop computers, tablets, wallets, passports and cash in several currencies.
According to the application, the seized cash includes US$1,000, R25,200, 4,500 Chinese Yuan, 4,000 Deux Mille, 245,000 Central African CFA francs, 200 Malaysian Ringgit, 20 Thai Baht and E50.
In a founding affidavit, first applicant Do Nascimento Santo Francisco Romulo states that the group travelled to Eswatini after responding to what they believed were legitimate job opportunities in neighbouring South Africa. They allege they were misled by a recruitment scheme before being arrested by local authorities for immigration violations.
The applicants maintain they are innocent third parties entitled to seek relief under Section 43(3) of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, which allows individuals to apply for the exclusion of their property from a preservation order.
They argue that they have never been charged with money laundering, organised crime, fraud, human trafficking or any offence under the Act.
“There is no evidence that the applicants’ personal belongings constituted proceeds of unlawful activities or were instrumentalities of any offence,” the court papers state.
The applicants further submit that the continued retention of their belongings has caused hardship, as they remain without access to their identification documents, electronic devices and money needed for banking transactions and employment.
Supporting affidavits were filed by Oliveira Souza Filho Wagner Fabiano, Yepes Garcia Joao Pedro, Nunes Link Moura and Nascimento Dos Santos Claudio.
The application is expected to be heard by the High Court.
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