Beitbridge police have arrested 35 people carrying an
assortment of goods worth thousands of dollars which they had allegedly
smuggled into the country through an illegal crossing point located less than a
kilometre from the main port of entry.
The gang was arrested last Monday night as the police
intensify efforts to reduce intrusive leakages along Zimbabwe’s border with
South Africa.
The suspects who have since been charged with smuggling,
were carrying electrical gadgets including fridges, 275 litres of petrol,
groceries and drums. The value of the goods is yet to be ascertained.
Police officer commanding Beitbridge, Chief Superintendent
Tichaona Nyongo, confirmed the arrests yesterday. “I can confirm that we
arrested 35 people on Monday evening at the spillway near the Old Limpopo
Bridge.
“They were carrying an assortment of goods they had
smuggled from South Africa. The goods have been taken to the Zimbabwe Revenue
Authority for value and import duty calculations,” he said.
The official said deployments had been made to ensure that
criminal activities were dealt with along the river.
Zimbabwean and South African security officials have since
the start of the lockdown in March been intensifying patrols to minimise the
illegal movement of both people and goods.
This is also done to reduce the rate of the spread of
Covid-19 in the two neighbouring countries.
The South Africans are intercepting mainly cigarettes,
while Zimbabwean authorities are arresting people with an assortment of
groceries and electrical gadgets.
Presently the border is closed to non-essential human
traffic and the development has led to an upsurge in smuggling and border
jumping.
Last week, security officials in Beitbridge intercepted six
people who had smuggled goods worth R1,3 million and attracting an estimated
import duty of $4 million.
The suspects had declared that they were shipping
mealie-meal and diapers but it turned out they were transporting groceries from
South Africa to Harare.
The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority regional manager for Beitbridge,
Mr Innocent Chikuni recently told the Minister of Finance and Economic
Development, Professor Mthuli Ncube that they had intercepted 21 commercial
trucks smuggling into the country an assortment goods worth millions of
dollars. Chronicle
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