An attempt by a 23-year-old Zimbabwean soldier to smuggle two illegal immigrants into South Africa through the Beit Bridge border post backfired, following his interception along the Limpopo Bridge by alert security personnel.

The officer commanding of the police at Beit Bridge, Chief Supt Nicholas Mawere, said the suspect was arrested on Tuesday at around 06:00, together with the two border jumpers whom he was assisting to cross the border illegally. “We arrested a member of the Zimbabwe National Army along the Limpopo Bridge. He was intercepted by our security personnel who were manning the exit point along the Limpopo Bridge after it was discovered that he was trying to smuggle a couple into South Africa, which was not in possession of valid travel documents. However, the suspect then produced his employment identity cards,” he said.