adminOfficer commanding police in Beitbridge District, Chief Superintendent Lawrence Chinhengo, said the arrests were made between Friday and yesterday afternoon during an ongoing anti-smuggling operation along the Limpopo River.
He said the Malawian suspect, Juma Charles Moyo (26), was arrested on Friday at about 3am
following a high speed chase, which resulted in his car, a South African registered Toyota Hilux ramming into a stationary haulage truck at a rail crossing point along the Beitbridge-Masvingo Road.
The car is suspected to have been from Polokwane in Limpopo Province. Moyo sustained a fractured leg and chest injuries as a result of the accident and he was taken to Beitbridge District Hospital.
“We arrested 32 suspects, 28 of which were smugglers while the other six are those involved in assisting border jumpers illegally cross the border into South Africa through undesignated entry points along the Limpopo River.
“One of the smugglers is a Malawian linked to a car theft and smuggling syndicate involved in stealing cars from South Africa. We arrested him during a chase along the Beitbridge-Masvingo Road leading to the recovery of a Toyota Hilux worth R500 000,” said Chief Supt Chinhengo.
He said they also recovered a stolen Toyota Corolla abandoned in the bush along the Beitbridge-Panda Mine Road after the two suspects, both Malawians, fled from the scene.
The vehicle was stolen in Limpopo Province, South Africa.
The latest development comes barely two weeks after police in the border town smashed another well-orchestrated car theft and smuggling racket during which they arrested eight Malawians and recovered five stolen top-of-the-range vehicles worth R4 million.
The cars were stolen from Durban in South Africa and smuggled into the country through undesignated entry points along the Limpopo River.
Chief Supt Chinhengo said they also intercepted two locally registered cars, a Toyota Raider and a kombi carrying consignments of 40 boxes of tomatoes smuggled from neighbouring farms in Musina.
The consignments were reportedly destined for Bulawayo.
“We also recovered several flea market goods worth thousands of dollars which were smuggled into the country throughillegal crossing points along the Limpopo River.
“As police our aim is to curb smuggling and other criminal activities occurring along the border. I am glad that since the launch of the operation we have been yielding positive results and we intend to cast the net even wider,” said Chief Supt Chinhengo.
The suspects are expected to appear in court soon.
derick.khumalo
Online Reporter