Two Zimbabwean police officers at Beitbridge, together with two members of the Zimbabwe National Army, accused of allegedly extorting R450 from a suspected cigarette smuggler, who allegedly intended to smuggle the contraband into South Africa, had their charges withdrawn due to a lack of evidence.

Simbarashe Mukarajeni (27) and Mukayi Mushoriwa (30), both police officers, and two soldiers, Batsirai Bwanali (27) and Philip Chadambuka (25), had every reason to smile when their charges were withdrawn when they appeared before Beit Bridge magistrate Ignatius Mhene on Monday. The four had pleaded not guilty to the charges of contravening a section of the Criminal Law Reform and Codification Act (bribery).

The prosecutor, Mr Mazwi Goto, said the four accused were manning a road block along the Beit Bridge-Sashe road on January 19. They then intercepted a minibus, which was carrying illegal immigrants and heading towards an illegal crossing point at an undesignated entry point along the Limpopo River. The accused then allegedly seized the contraband and demanded R3 500 from the complainant. The complainant allegedly offered them a R450 deposit, on the understanding that he would pay the remainder at an agreed date.

It was said that the complainant then went to the Beitbridge police station, where he reported the matter to the police, leading to the arrest of the four suspects.