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Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
Zimbabwe and South Africa have tightened security at their border to thwart illegal activities, especially smuggling and the illegal movement of people between the two countries.

The move resulted in the arrest of 13 387 people for border jumping and smuggling-related cases between December 10 and 31 last year.

National police spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said security officials were not relenting on their quest to restore order at the border.

“We have deployed enough manpower to deal with criminal elements along the border,” he said.

“On Sunday alone we arrested 632 people under the ongoing operation ‘No to Cross-border Crimes-Fhasi Ngamilandu Yamukanuni Yamashango —Mhosva Pamiganhu Ngadzipere — Amacala Kawaphele Emingceleni Yelizwe.

Among these were smugglers, illegal vendors, Covid-19 protocols violators, and irregular migrants.”

Asst Comm Nyathi said they were carrying out operations concurrently with their South African counterparts.

He said most of those being arrested were attempting to use the few available illegal crossing points to access Zimbabwe from South Africa and vice versa since water levels in Limpopo River had started rising.

The senior police officer warned people against using illegal crossing points since they risk prosecution, being attacked by criminals or wild animals, and drowning in the Limpopo River.

“We are carrying out the security operations concurrently with our counterparts in South Africa so that we don’t give the criminals breathing space.

The security forces are out in full force along the borderline and we are descending hard on those breaking the law,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.

He said the number of people using the border has been increasing in the past week with many migrants trying to beat the very tight security checks as the festive season winds up.

Asst Comm Nyathi said police will not take lightly to those smuggling goods, skipping the border, and spreading Covid-19 across borders.

Chronicle is reliably informed that some immigrants are using over 200 illegal crossing points along the Limpopo River to enter or leave and smuggle goods into the country.

The most common crossing points are Mai Maria, Dite, Panda Mine, River Ranch, Dulivhadzimu Gorge, Spillway, and Tshivhara.

Our news crew has since established that the bulk of smuggled goods include electrical gadgets, groceries, and other prohibited goods.

Zimbabwe beefed up security along its border with South Africa in January last year after it was discovered that general crime and smuggling was rife and the country was losing millions of dollars revenue in potential import duty.

Security patrols are being conducted by helicopters, use of drones, the police and army horse-mounted units, and the canine sections.

Over 80 000 people were arrested for various offences between January and December last year under the same operation. — @tupeyo