A BID for freedom by a 38-year-old Zimbabwean woman who was
arrested in South Africa for smuggling drugs worth R2 million via Beitbridge
Border Post has hit a snag.
Mavis Busisiwe Thandeka, who is believed to be part of a
racket moving illicit drugs across the borders, was denied bail at Musina
Magistrate Court following her arrest on May 11 at around 6AM.
Initially the case was being handled by South African
Police Services detectives but investigations were recently taken over by the
neighbouring country’s specialised crime unit, the Hawks.
Hawks spokesperson for Limpopo Province Captain Matimba
Maluleke said Thandeka had been further remanded in custody to August 5 pending
trial.
“It is alleged that
on Sunday (11 May) at around 0600hrs, our members were performing their normal
duties at the Beitbridge Port of Entry in the Musina policing area when they
searched the luggage belonging to a 38-year-old woman.
“During the search,
police found 15xCrystal meth drugs with the estimated street value of over R2
million. Preliminary investigations revealed that this woman was travelling
from Harare in Zimbabwe to South Africa,” said Capt Maluleke.
The smuggling of drugs and explosives between Zimbabwe and
South Africa’s boundary line has been on the increase.
Over 40 people were arrested between 2015 and 2017 for
smuggling between the two countries.
In 2015 two women from Bulawayo aged 41 and 23 were fined
R20 000 each for smuggling 180 detonators into the neighbouring country.
The other group of 14 men was intercepted in July 2014 at
an illegal entry point along the Limpopo River carrying detonators worth R350
000.
They were fined R30 000 each by a South African court.
Chronicle
0 comments:
Post a Comment