Two Zimbabwean police officers in Beitbridge, together with two other members of the Zimbabwe National Army, were charged yesterday for allegedly extorting R450 from a suspected cigarette smuggler.

It is suspected that the man intended to smuggle the contraband to South Africa through an undesignated entry point along the Limpopo River.

Simbarashe Mukarajeni (27) and Mukayi Mushoriwa (30) both police officers, Batsirai Bwanali (27) and Philip Chadambuka (25), the two soldiers stationed at One Independence camp in the border town, appeared before Beitbridge magistrate Ignatius Mhene on charges of contravening a section of the Criminal Law Reform and Codification Act (bribery). Their case was postponed to February 12 and the four accused persons are no longer in custody after they were each given Z$25 million bail.

The prosecutor, Mr Mazwi Goto, said on January 19, the four accused persons were manning a road block long the Beitbridge-Shashe road. They then intercepted a minibus which was carrying illegal immigrants and heading towards an illegal crossing point along the Limpopo River. The vehicle was coming from Beitbridge.

Upon searching the vehicle, they recovered 40 boxes of cigarettes, whose owner allegedly intended to smuggle them into South Africa through an undesignated entry point along the Limpopo River. The accused then seized the contraband and demanded R3 500 from the complainant. The complainant then offered them a R450 deposit, on the understanding that he would pay the remainder at an agreed date. However, the complaint then proceeded to the Beitbridge police station where he reported the matter to the police, leading to the arrest of the four men and the subsequent recovery of the extorted R450.