ABSTRACT
The use of small arms in the kingdom of Swaziland is basically confined to purely criminal activities, such as armed robberies, smuggling, armed burglaries, drug trafficking and cattle rustling operations. Car theft and smuggling are also daily occurrences. Cars are stolen either from South Africa or Swaziland and then are smuggled through official border posts or through the fence to Mozambique. Small arms are mainly procured by criminals through illicit traffic and, to a lesser extent, through theft from police or army stocks, and even from licensed civilian owners. The primary victims have been citizens residing along the Swaziland-Mozambique border, whose livestock has been seized by organised gangs, also often at gunpoint. All of these criminal activities—including smuggling, but particularly armed robberies and burglaries—take place in both rural and urban areas in Swaziland. These activities are predominant near or through official border posts and airports, as well as through smuggling routes along the Swaziland-South Africa border and the Swaziland-Mozambique border.
