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Sukulwenkosi Dube
POLICE in Plumtree Town have intercepted about 40 tonnes of cigarettes with a street value of more than $600 000 hidden in a train destined for Botswana.
The officer commanding Bulilima-Mangwe police district, Chief Superintendent Patrick Majuta, said they recovered 1 600 boxes of Pacific Blue cigarettes.
He said the cigarettes which were retrieved from the wagons yesterday were being held at Zimra offices in Plumtree.
The train which left Bulawayo on Thursday was intercepted on the same day at Plumtree Railway Station around 3pm.
“We intercepted a train that had 1 600 boxes of cigarettes that were being smuggled into Botswana on Thursday afternoon at the Plumtree Railway Station. Each box carried 50 bricks,” said Chief Supt Majuta.
“The boxes of cigarettes were concealed among gum poles which were loaded into four wagons.”
Chief Supt Majuta said the police recovered the cigarettes after carrying out investigations for about a month.
“We started working on this case about a month ago. We received information on cigarettes that were being smuggled into Botswana through Plumtree using train wagons under the pretext of transporting gum poles,” he said.
“We then decided to inspect all trains that were passing through Plumtree. On hearing that this particular train loaded with gum poles was passing through we then made a search and found the cigarettes.”
Chief Supt Majuta said they were still carrying out investigations but the destination of the consignment was a Botswana based company while the consigner was a Bulawayo company.
“We have not made any arrests yet but we are still investigating the matter. What we have established as of now is that the destination of the shipment is a Gaborone based company and the consigner is a Bulawayo based company located in Belmont area. We are yet to get full details on the consigner as we are still carrying out investigations,” he said.
Chief Supt Majuta said they suspected that the smuggling of the cigarettes has been going on for sometime.
“These shipments have been ongoing for a while now. The consignee from Botswana has been frequently receiving these gum pole deliveries. From what we have gathered, a delivery was being made almost twice a month to the same destination.
“In this particular case each wagon was registered to be carrying 20 tonnes of gum poles. In approximation we suspect that 10 tonnes in each wagon comprised the cigarettes,” said Chief Supt Majuta.
He said the smuggling consignment was the biggest to be recorded in the area.
“We normally record smuggling cases but most of the time they would be goods that are being smuggled into the country. We have few incidents of goods being smuggled out of the country.
“Most of these cases occur at unofficial entry points along the border. We usually handle cases of people smuggling small quantities of goods and this particular case is the first of its kind that we have recorded. We have rolled out teams in full force to ensure that we catch these criminals so that we can set an example for people who assume that crime pays,” said Chief Supt Majuta.
He said they had handled 259 cases of smuggling in Bulilima and Mangwe Districts since the beginning of the year.
Online Reporter