The suspects had attempted to smuggle R1,9 million in stolen property across the Mozambique border.
About 2 700 cross-border trucks were prevented from leaving mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Only 15% of an initial pledge of R2.9 billion has been paid over to the Border Management Authority.
The BMA will redevelop six ports of entry as one-stop border posts to improve efficiency.
The new authority replaces the multi-agency approach of positioning seven government entities at border posts.
Tempers are beginning to flare on the N1 in the DRC, where desperate drivers trying to skip the queue are often stopped and forced to turn around.
One of the trucks apparently carried sulphur, used on the mines at Lubumbashi and Kolwezi.
