20 Nov 2019

A 36-year-old illegal immigrant is helping Tutume police with investigations on theft of streetlight solar panels and batteries. 

Station commander, Superintendent Jerry Halahala, said in an interview that they commenced investigations following numerous reports on damage done on a P280m infrastructure project.

Superintendent Halahala noted that their efforts paid off on Tuesday afternoon when they received a tip off that someone had hidden panels in the bush and they managed to arrest the suspect, who is a Zimbabwean.

He was carrying two solar panels, two controllers and a bag of tools suspected to have been used to remove the panels and batteries.

The police pounced on the suspect when he was taking a rest in the bush along Senete River, about 20 kilometers from Tutume.

He said the suspect stated that he was on his way to Zimbabwe where he sold the goods. 

He further informed them that four other panels were at his home town in Plumtree, Zimbabwe.

Furthermore, Superintendent Halahala said they found that the suspect belonged to a syndicate of illegal immigrants, some of whom had been employed by Batswana in and around Tutume.

The station commander said they were going to liaise with their Zimbabwean counterparts to trace the stolen goods.

The suspect would be charged for possession of stolen property and entering Botswana at ungazzetted points of entry. Ends