Africa-Press – South-Africa. A joint operation of South African border control guards and Zimbabwean security officials this week destroyed a makeshift bridge erected by smugglers the night before.
The illegal bridge was the third since January this year and was erected just under a kilometre east of the border post, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) said.
It said the bridge, in an area infested with crocodiles and hippopotamuses, was made of logs, metal poles and sacks filled with sand.
The officer in command of Beitbridge, Chief Superintendent Tichaona Nyongo, of the ZRP, told journalists: “We will suffocate the criminals on both sides of the border.”
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In July, the police seized 11 pressure boats at various illegal crossing points along the Limpopo River.
The smugglers use boats to transport mainly contraband cigarettes from Zimbabwe into South Africa, as well as groceries, electrical gadgets and other goods.
Nyongo pleaded for people to use the proper channels for the importation of goods and general travel.
“People should use formal crossing points,” he said.
Figures from the ZRP indicate that, in July, at least 5 000 people were arrested for cross-border-related crimes on the Zimbabwean side.
Three weeks ago, SA deployed 200 specially trained border control officers to the Beitbridge border post, under the Border Management Authority programme.
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