The raid at Castle Hotel in Mbabane ended with 88 foreign nationals in custody, after police uncovered what they believe was a large online gambling and fraud operation.
Officers from the Royal Eswatini Police Service moved through several rooms, seizing laptops, desktop computers, and other electronic devices that appeared to be set up for the scheme.
The Ministry of Home Affairs later confirmed that none of those arrested had valid immigration papers.
Assistant Superintendent Nosipho Mnguni, Deputy Police Information and Communications Officer, said:
The suspects are Asian nationals who were found in a hotel around Mbabane. Investigations are ongoing to establish what their mission in the country was and whether their activities were legal.
While Brazil was represented by eight, the majority of the remaining suspects appeared to be based in countries throughout Asia.
The investigators suspect that these individuals have been running an organized crime syndicate operating from within Eswatini, primarily to defraud persons residing outside of that country.
Currently, Eswatini faces increasing challenges related to unregulated gambling as well as cyber crime and other financial crimes. In response, the House of Assembly has approved a proposal to develop a centralised monitoring system for all online gambling operations within the country.
This system is intended to identify and block illegal operators and prevent users who are not of legal age from participating. In January of this year, some legislators proposed suspending all ongoing licenses until proper regulatory frameworks could be established.
