Bales smuggle more than jackets into Zimbabwe

SECOND-HAND clothes are now off the streets - and Government says the crackdown is about much more than fashion trends.

Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe told Bulawayo City councillors and management on Friday that the ban on selling used clothes is part of a wider operation to dismantle drug trafficking networks using the trade as cover.

Earlier this week, Garwe announced a nationwide prohibition on second-hand clothing sales and night vending, following last October's import ban on used garments by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

"The bales coming into the country are hiding drugs. Some are even bringing in bed bugs - we saw that in Harare recently," Garwe said.

He warned that the influx of cheap used clothing had decimated Zimbabwe's cotton industry, shutting down once-thriving Bulawayo clothing factories and throwing thousands out of work.

The Minister described the illicit trade as a security threat, noting that some vendors operate like "slippery operators" who constantly change locations to evade authorities.

"These are the people bringing drugs into our communities," he said. "Night vending and second-hand clothes stalls are being used as a cover for cartels feeding the substance abuse crisis destroying our children."

Garwe emphasised that Government values legitimate vendors for their contribution to the economy, but vowed that those abusing vending to traffic drugs would face the full force of the law.