Harare man nabbed for smuggling aircraft spares

Zim Now Writer

A man from Eastview, Harare was arrested by Beitbridge police on allegations of smuggling aircraft spares through into Zimbabwe.

Charles Mutandwa (45) was arrested at a roadblock at Bubi, about 80 kilometres from Beitbridge along the highway to Masvingo.

Mutandwa on November 3, 2022, by security agents deployed in Beitbridge for the “No to Cross Border Crimes” operation.

A team of security agents searched a Godzilla bus on which Mutandwa was a passenger and found a box full of aircraft spares was found.

On being asked, Mutandwa failed to produce any documentation to substantiate declaration for the spares.

“As a result, he was subsequently arrested and escorted to ZRP Beitbridge screening tent for further management, Bubi OB 532/22 refers.”

Many cases of smuggling and illegal crossings have been recorded mainly at the Beitbridge Border Post although the crimes are not confined to the southern border alone.

In March, 15 buses carrying thousands of dollars’ worth of contraband intercepted by National Security Taskforce in Beitbridge during an operation in the border town.

In the same month, a South African man and two Zimbabweans were arrested for smuggling two vehicles, a Toyota Hilux GD6 and Toyota Fortuner GD6 from South Africa with combined value of R2 million, while a Beitbridge man was caught after smuggling a R3,5 million worth Mercedes Benz from South Africa in May.

In July alone, about 5 000 people were arrested for cross-border crimes while the Zimbabwe republic Police seized 11 floating boats from various smuggling points while a joint operation involving SA border control guards and Zimbabwean security officials in August destroyed an illegal bridge made of logs, metal poles and sand bags near Beitbridge along the Limpopo River.