24 Sep 2020

Matsiloje Police have seized three containers of petrol and arrested a middle-aged Motswana man on suspicions of smuggling fuel into Zimbabwe.

The man is said to be employed at a farm along the Ramakgwebana river, which forms part of the Botswana/ Zimbabwe border and is suspected to have bought a petrol at Dumela industrial Site in Francistown to ferry it to Zimbabwe illegally.

Matsiloje Police Station Commander Superintendent, Charles Mbengwa confirmed the incident saying the suspect used some water pipes to ferry the petrol to his dealers on the Zimbabwean side.

He said the suspect was arrested Thursday morning and is in custody while BURS officials consider which charge to level against him. He said the man might be charged with illegal smuggling of goods into another country.

“This is a unique case and the first of its kind since the outbreak of COVID-19,” Superintendent Mbengwa said.

To beat the system, the suspect is said to have pretended to be ferrying water from the Ramakgwebana River using a water pump generator and instead crossed the pipe secretly to the Zimbabwe side where the petrol was pumped into a man-made underground water collector.

Superintendent Mbengwa voiced concern about cases of illegal crossing of goods from Botswana into Zimbabwe and vise versa, which he said were rife along the Botswana/Zimbabwean border since the outbreak of COVID-19.

However, he said Matsiloje police in conjunction with members of the Botswana Defence Force had intensified their patrols along the border.

He said the suspect would appear in court soon and police investigations are ongoing. The man’s accomplices are said to have  fled the scene when the police arrived. Ends