Mat South police smash smuggling ring, 5 cars impounded

Zim Now Writer

Police in Matabeleland South have smashed a well-orchestrated smuggling syndicate at Plumtree Border Post and recovered five smuggled Honda Fit vehicle and an assortment of goods illegally brought into the country from Botswana.

Acting officer commanding police in Bulilima and Mangwe districts, Superintendent Rosemary Mangena said they smashed the smuggling ring duing a crackdown on smugglers.

“There are vehicles which are brought into the country illegally as the vehicles were manufactured more than ten years ago.

“In Mbwenda, we have recovered four Honda Fit cars and recently, a Toyota Runx,” she said.

Supt Mangena added that alcohol and groceries were usually smuggled through Mpoengs Border Post, especially now when businesses are targeting to cash in on the festive season.

Porous borders and a lack of adequate resources to conduct patrols, Supt Mangena said, have made smuggling rampant.

“The challenge that we have is the size of the border line which stretches from Mayobodo up to Maitengwe Border Post, which makes it difficult to patrol due to lack of resources.

“There are no roads on our side of the border unlike in Botswana where they have the veterinary fence,” she said.

Government in 2021 outlawed the importation of vehicles older than 10 years in a move that is meant to revitalise the local motor industry, reduce the import bill and cut greenhouse emissions.

Under Statutory Instrument 89 of 2021, second-hand vehicles manufactured 10 years ago, except commercial vehicles and those for agricultural purposes, are no longer permitted into the country.

The move was meant to reduce road carnage and also put the worsening pollution in check.

Continued pollution hampers efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change.

However, smugglers have found a ready market for the Honda Fit vehicles in those who use them as pirate taxis.