Zimbabwean police at Beit Bridge have arrested 32 suspects along the borderline, one of them a Malawian car smuggler who was intercepted after a dramatic high-speed chase along the Beit Bridge-Masvingo road.

The local police spokesperson, Chief Supt Lawrence Chinhengo, said the arrests were made between Monday and Friday during an ongoing anti-smuggling operation along the Limpopo River.

He said the Malawian suspect, Juma Charles Moyo (26), was arrested on Friday at around 03:00 after a high-speed chase. His vehicle, a Limpopo-registered Toyota Hilux, rammed into a stationary haulage truck at a rail crossing point along the Beit Bridge-Masvingo road. The car is suspected to have been stolen from Polokwane. Moyo sustained a fractured leg and a chest injury as a result of the accident and he was taken to the Beit Bridge District Hospital. Moyo has since appeared in court and the case was postponed to 17 September. He remains in custody.

“We arrested 32 suspects, 28 of whom are accused of being smugglers, while the other six are allegedly involved in assisting border jumpers in crossing the border into South Africa illegally through undesignated entry points along the Limpopo River."

He said they had also recovered a stolen Toyota Corolla, abandoned along the Beit Bridge-Panda Mine road, after the two suspects, both Malawians, had fled from the scene. The vehicle was also stolen in Limpopo Province.

Chinhengo said they had also intercepted two locally registered vehicles, a Toyota Raider and a Toyota Hi-ace kombi, carrying a consignment of 40 boxes of tomatoes smuggled from farms neighbouring Musina. The consignments were reportedly destined for Bulawayo.

“We also recovered flea markets goods worth thousands of rands, which were smuggled into the country through illegal crossing points along the Limpopo River.

“As police, our aim is to curb smuggling and other criminal activities occurring along the border. I am glad that, since the launch of the operation, we have seen positive results, and we intend to cast the net even wider,” Chinhengo said.