SA police intercept 23 Ethiopians smuggled through...

SA police intercept 23 Ethiopians smuggled through Zim

Zim Now Writer

South African police on Saturday intercepted and arrested 23 Ethiopians who had smuggled through Zimbabwe and arrested the group near Polokwane.

The driver of the white Toyota Quantum in which the illegal immigrants were travelling in and the driver of an accomplice’s car, who had tried to bribe the police.

The illegal immigrants were being transported in two vehicles by armed men believed to be part of a human smuggling syndicate that moves immigrants from the horn of Africa into South Africa.

Zimbabwe’s Department of Immigration, with the assistance of other security agents, have in the past intercepted Ethiopians, Somalis, Congolese, Eritreans and citizens of countries north of the Zambezi River as they trek to South Africa.

Their route through Zimbabwe uses illegal crossing points in the northern and eastern parts of the country.

Police spokesperson for Limpopo province, Colonel Malasela Ledwaba said the group was arrested in the Solomondale area near the city of Polokwane.

The group aged between 20 and 40 years have been charged for violating sections of the Immigration Act.

“It is reported that members of the SAPS Limpopo Provincial Tracking Team in conjunction with two private security companies SPS High Risk and Tshimollo Security have acted on operationalised information gathered regarding a motor vehicle, a white Toyota Quantum, that was found driving along R81 road in Solomondale under Sebayeng policing area through Munik road from Beitbridge port of entry in Musina from Zimbabwe to Polokwane in Limpopo, South Africa,” said Col Ledwaba.

“During the process, the team spotted the Quantum at a filling station along R81 road in Sebayeng and upon checking they discovered that 23 Ethiopian male nationals aged between 20 and 38 years were ferried in a 15-seater passenger mini bus by the driver, a 44-year-old male South African citizen”.

Col. Ledwaba said preliminary investigations showed that all the passengers in the Quantum were illegally smuggled into South Africa from Ethiopia through Zimbabwe, adding that a male foreign national who was driving a white Toyota Fortuner stopped while police were searching the Quantum and the passengers.