Three Zimbabweans were arrested at the Beit Bridge Border Post after they were caught trying to smuggle copper wire to the value of R50 000 into South Africa.

The local police spokesperson, Insp Tafanana Dzirutwe, said the three suspects, William Ncube (43), Melody Gawani (26) and Cloud Marope (35), were arrested on Friday evening. “The three were arrested at Beit Bridge border post at around 20:00 and, as a result, we recovered copper wire to the value of about R50 000. The suspects were driving a bakkie, which was heading towards Johannesburg and we suspect the copper, which they intended to smuggle into South Africa, was stolen,” he said.

Meanwhile, in a related incident, police arrest a 35-year-old Zimbabwean man linked to the smuggling of 21 zebra skins worth US$21 000 on the same day.

Dzirutwe said they mounted a road block along the Beit Bridge-Bulawayo road and arrested the suspect, following a tip-off. “We got information that a cross-border bus operator en route to South Africa had zebra skins. We then mounted a roadblock and arrested the suspect, who was driving a Gauteng-registered vehicle which was behind the bus, and we subsequently recovered 21 zebra skins. We suspect the zebras were poached and we are now investigating. The suspect will appear in court soon ,” said Dzirutwe.