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Mashudu Netsianda, Senior Reporter
SOUTH African police have arrested seven Zimbabweans at Beitbridge Border Post for smuggling explosives into the neighbouring country.

SAPS Limpopo provincial police spokesperson Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said the suspects, aged between 32 and 39, among them a woman, were arrested on Thursday night last week.

“The suspects were arrested during an operation conducted in Musina and at the Beitbridge port of entry. The seven suspects, including a woman, were stopped in their tracks after their suspicious vehicle was stopped and searched and 50 fused caps and 10 blasting cartridges were confiscated,” he said.

Col Ngoepe said the suspects were destined for Gauteng province and it is suspected that the suspects could be linked to an organised syndicate involved in a spate of cash-in-transit heists.

“The origin of the explosives is still being determined and we suspect that this might be part of a bigger syndicate involved in armed robberies and possibly linked to the recent spate of cash-in-transit heists. However, we are still conducting investigations,” he said

Col Ngoepe said the suspects will soon appear at the Musina Magistrates’ Court to face charges of possession of illegal explosives and contravening the illegal Immigration Act.

The latest arrests come barely three months after another Zimbabwean was arrested at the same border post after he was found in possession of explosives and 281 detonators.

The 48-year-old suspect was caught in an intelligence-led joint operation carried out in Limpopo Province which borders Zimbabwe’s Matabeleland South province.

@mashnets