Bus crew arrested for smuggling

Freeman Razemba, Crime Reporter

A BUS crew has been arrested after being found with 34kg of mbanje and other illicit goods.

Police intercepted the bus along the Harare-Masvingo Road after it had suspiciously diverted to a shopping centre.

The suspects have been named as Simbarashe Chikasha (36) and Prince Nyakudya Tirivamambo by Detective Inspector Rachel Muteweri, spokesperson for the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).

Giving details yesterday of the search and arrests on Tuesday, she said detectives from CID Chivhu heard from watchful members of the public that a bus travelling from Beitbridge to Harare had suspiciously veered off its usual route.

The team promptly mobilised, tracking the rogue vehicle to its clandestine stop at Gelucker Shops in Featherstone.

With no time wasted, the bus was escorted to ZRP Featherstone, where a thorough search began. Hidden in the luggage compartments, police unearthed packets of mbanje concealed with precision, as if the culprits believed their illicit cargo could outwit the long arm of the law. Further probing led to an even more brazen find, nine carefully wrapped packets of mbanje stuffed in a Monarch suitcase and then another 26 packets stashed inside two bus wheels.

In total, the recovered mbanje weighed 34 kg, an amount that left no doubt about the scale of this smuggling operation. The two suspects have since appeared before a magistrate court.

Detective Inspector Muteweri applauded the vigilance of the public, whose timely information played a pivotal role in exposing the crime.

“We urge everyone to remain vigilant and report any suspected drug dealers, as their destructive activities pose a grave threat to the well-being of our communities,” she said.