Police in Musina have re-arrested another Zimbabwean criminal, who was among the six prisoners who recently escaped from a police cell in the border town. The SAPS spokesperson for Musina, Captain Sydney Ringane, said the criminal was arrested at a farm outside Musina on Saturday afternoon.

He was in the company of a colleague, who managed to outwit the police.

Knowledge Muleya (28) of Malala village in Beit Bridge, together with his brother-in-law, Ignatius Magede, who is also linked to the syndicate, was arrested last Tuesday at a phone shop in Dulibadzimu Bus Terminus, following a tip-off. Muleya, a convicted prisoner, was slapped with a five-year jail term in Musina for possession of an unlicensed firearm. The two criminals were arrested during the ongoing crackdown on cross-border crimes.

Capt Ringane said they were working with their Zimbabwean counterparts in the fight against cross-border crime. The criminals are linked to a well-organized syndicate operating in Musina and Beit Bridge. The other four, accused of crimes ranging from murder, housebreaking and theft to robbery, are still at large.

The six escaped from the police cells in Musina after cutting through iron bars, using a saw.

Bhebhe said the criminals were mostly involved in organized cross-border crimes targeting smugglers and border jumpers in using illegal crossing points in bushy areas. “We have since deployed our officers in the known criminal hot spot as we continue with our operation and carrying out intensified night patrols as part of the national exercise following an upsurge in armed robberies,” he said.

Bhebhe said they were also targeting brothels, which are said to be havens for criminals.

Of late there has been an increase in the number of armed robberies in Beitbridge. Last month, a shop at Mashakada Shopping area in Dulibadzimu suburb was raided by suspects who were armed with a pistol.

A similar incident also occurred at Lutumba Business Centre, about 23km out of the border town, where a shopkeeper was robbed of money at gunpoint. The firearms are reportedly smuggled into the country from South Africa.