Zimbabwean police in Beit Bridge impounded more than 30 South African cross-border buses, which have been operating while using fake permits.

The officer-in-charge of the local traffic police section, Insp Tendai Nyambuya, said the exercise, which was conducted on Friday, was in line with the legal requirements for all commercial vehicles entering the neighbouring country. “We impounded 38 South African cross-border buses, which were using fake permits under the guise of transporting tourists, yet they were ferrying locals on cross-border business,” he said.

The buses where subsequently taken to the vehicle inspection depot in the border town. Nyambuya said most of the impounded buses where using tourist permits to cross into Zimbabwe through Beit Bridge Border Post.

Under normal circumstances, buses using tourist permits would be those hired by a tour operator to ferry tourists only to their respective destinations. The impounded buses were intercepted at the border post on their way back to South Africa.

Nyambuya said the ongoing exercise also targeted local pirate taxis and unregistered cross-border transport operators commonly known as omalayitsha.

“We also nabbed several unregistered taxis and South-African-registered cars belonging to unregistered cross-border transporters. In fact, they continue to abuse temporary importation permits (TIPs) by ferrying border jumpers to bushy areas along the Limpopo River where they end up robbing them of their money,” Nyambuya said. “We have since confiscated their documents (TIPs) and surrendered them to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) and we are continuing with the blitz until sanity prevails,” he said.