South African Soldiers Bust Zimbabwean Vehicle Smuggling Racket

The South African National Defence Forces (SANDEF) Monday intercepted two sports utility vehicles that were being smuggled to Zimbabwe through a sandy beach.

In a statement on Monday, the SANDEF said it impounded a Toyota Fortuner and a Nissan SUV worth half a million rands which were being smuggled into the country through an illegal entry point. The statement said:

The SANDEF soldiers deployed at Madimbo Operational Base Intercepted these luxury SUV’s which were about to be smuggled to Zimbabwe by vehicle smugglers.

Smuggling of vehicles and other contraband is rampant at the porous Beitbridge Border Post.

Reports indicate that vehicle trafficking syndicates smuggle stolen cars through the Limpopo River where donkeys are used to pull the vehicle across the river into Zimbabwe.

According to the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), an anti-crime operation at the border post that began on January 7 targeting touts and organised criminal gangs involved in the smuggling of goods and other contraband has netted over 16 000 offenders.

However, the anti-crime operations have done little to stop smuggling as in some cases police officers are involved.

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