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Thupeyo Muleya
Beitbridge Bureau
A 40-year-old man believed to be part of a cigarettes smuggling racket has been arrested by police who found him with an unregistered pistol with eight rounds.
Tinei Chaparadza was cornered by detectives at a house in Dulivhadzimu suburb on Tuesday evening following a tip off.
He was arrested while sleeping with the firearm hoisted on his waist.
Police officer commanding Beitbridge District, Chief Superintendent Tichaona Nyongo, confirmed the incident yesterday.
Chaparadza had been charged with possession of a firearm without a licence as defined in section 4 of the Firearms Act Chapter 9:23.
“On the day in question, our detectives on night patrol got a tip off about the man who was in possession of a fire arm,” said Chief Supt Nyongo.
“The team then reacted to the information and they found the suspect fast asleep in one of the rooms. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a blue t-shirt.
“They then pinned him to the bed before putting a pair of handcuffs on his wrists.”
Chief Supt Nyongo said the detectives then carried out a body search on Chaparadza and recovered a Star pistol charged with a magazine of 8x9mm rounds from his waist.
Further searches in the house led to the discovery of 10x9mm rounds of ammunition in his satchel.
“Upon further interrogations, he revealed that he was using the firearm to escort cigarettes being smuggled from Zimbabwe via illegal crossing points to South Africa,” said Chief Supt Nyongo.
“He failed to give a satisfactory answer about the origins of the fire arm and he was charged for contravening a section of the fire arms act.”
Chief Supt Nyongo said further investigations into the matter were underway and that Chaparadza will soon appear in court.
The incident comes a few months following the arrest of a 22-year-old man at the Old Limpopo Bridge who attempted to smuggle a pistol into the country.
Incident of people smuggling firearms from South Africa through the Limpopo river have become rife and security has been descending hard on such criminals.
Online Reporter