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Crime Reporter
Police have launched a manhunt for two drivers in Mutare following the recovery of more than 200 bales of second-hand clothes and other goods smuggled into the country through an illegal entry point in Penhalonga.
The clothes and goods, and the two trucks carrying them, have since been impounded. But the drivers fled the scene after being cornered by the police on Saturday.
National police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi said police recovered 211 bales of second-hand clothes, 27 x 50kg bags of groundnuts and 60 brand-new shovels at an illegal crossing point known as Monarch in the Penhalonga area.
“This recovery follows a tip-off that there were trucks laden with second-hand bales which had crossed into the country through an illegal cross point. The police reacted to the information and laid an ambush in the Penhalonga area, where two trucks, a Nissan UD and a Scania, were intercepted. The drivers of the trucks attempted to evade arrest leading to the police deflating the tyres of both trucks.
“The drivers abandoned the trucks and fled from the scene leaving the smuggled goods. Investigations by the police have established that the Scania truck, registration number AFJ 2423, belongs to Back Pack Safari in Gweru, while the Nissan UD truck, registration number ABH 7305 is registered in the name of J. Mapuvire Private Limited in Chivi.
“A cellphone recovered from the Nissan UD truck driver’s cab is suspected to belong to the driver, Fredrick Cedrick Chemusarera,” Comm Nyathi said.
He reiterated that there was no going back in the fight against smuggling.
“Criminal syndicates that are using undesignated and illegal points to smuggle goods into the country will be decisively dealt with according to the country’s laws. In the same vein, the Zimbabwe Republic Police is appealing for information which may lead to the arrest of Edmore Gopo, a Mutare-based suspect who is linked to the smuggling activities,” he said.
Smuggling has been on the increase prompting the police to launch an operation code-named, “No to Border Crimes”.
Online Reporter