Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya
A MALAWI-BOUND CB Coaches bus was busted at Beitbridge Border Post after a joint security operation intercepted a massive contraband of mbanje and banned cough syrups worth thousands of dollars.
The bust followed a tip-off, leading police and customs officers to pounce on the bus before it could leave the border. One of the drivers has since been arrested, while his colleague vanished into thin air moments before the search began.
“We got a tip-off that the bus was carrying mbanje, Broncleer and Astraphane prohibited cough syrups,” said a security source. “We then searched the bus and found 43 cobs and 69 small sachets of mbanje. The weight and value will be confirmed once all pre-scene stages are complete.”
The bust sent shockwaves through the usually busy border post as officers from the canine unit and customs combed through every inch of the vehicle, which remains detained pending further investigations.
Sources close to the investigation said most of the mbanje being smuggled from South Africa finds its way into high-density suburbs across the country, where drug peddlers are feeding a growing black-market demand.
Authorities say they are tightening surveillance at the country’s busiest port of entry as smugglers continue to devise new tricks to sneak illegal substances into Zimbabwe.
More to follow…
