News / Regional
Man arrested for trying to smuggle 9 children into SA
09 Dec 2011 at 18:17hrs | Views
A cross-border transport operator (37) commonly known as umalayitsha has been arrested for attempting to smuggle a group of nine children into South Africa through Beitbridge Border Post.
The children's ages range between two and 12.
The suspect, Claudious Moyo, of Maphisa in Kezi district was arrested on Thursday at about 7am following the interception of his car, a Toyota Hilux pick up, at a road block mounted along the Beitbridge-Bulawayo highway.
On searching the vehicle police discovered that it had a group of nine undocumented children on board who were being illegally transported to South Africa.
The acting officer commanding police in Beitbridge District, Superintendent Conrad Manhai, confirmed the arrest, saying the suspect would appear in court soon on a charge of assisting border jumpers.
"We arrested a 37-year-old man for attempting to smuggle nine children into South Africa through Beitbridge Border Post. The suspect was arrested by our officers who had mounted a roadblock along the Beitbridge-Bulawayo Road and he will soon appear in court on a charge of assisting border jumpers," said Sup Manhai.
The minors were taken to Save the Children (UK) centre in the border town where they were offered temporary shelter.
Supt Manhai warned people against approaching omalayitsha to assist them smuggle their children, saying it was a risk venture.
"As police we continue to handle such cases of children being smuggled into South Africa though Beitbridge. We would like to warn Zimbabweans based in South Africa against approaching omalayitsha to help them smuggle their children. In fact, we continue to urge people to use the legal channels by acquiring travel documents," he said.
The latest incident after a similar case in which a 32-year-old Bulawayo based umalayitsha was arrested for attempting to smuggle a group of border jumpers, among them 21 undocumented children.
He was spotted by South African police while loading the border jumpers into his kombi near Musina leading to his arrest.
The border jumpers were then taken to the South African Home Affairs department and then handed over to the Zimbabwean authorities.
Soon after arriving in Beitbridge, omalayitsha normally help border jumpers cross the border into South Africa through undesignated entry points along the crocodile-infested Limpopo River.
They then drive to the South African side where they pick the border jumpers before ferrying them to their respective destinations for fees ranging between R300 and R1 500.
The children's ages range between two and 12.
The suspect, Claudious Moyo, of Maphisa in Kezi district was arrested on Thursday at about 7am following the interception of his car, a Toyota Hilux pick up, at a road block mounted along the Beitbridge-Bulawayo highway.
On searching the vehicle police discovered that it had a group of nine undocumented children on board who were being illegally transported to South Africa.
The acting officer commanding police in Beitbridge District, Superintendent Conrad Manhai, confirmed the arrest, saying the suspect would appear in court soon on a charge of assisting border jumpers.
"We arrested a 37-year-old man for attempting to smuggle nine children into South Africa through Beitbridge Border Post. The suspect was arrested by our officers who had mounted a roadblock along the Beitbridge-Bulawayo Road and he will soon appear in court on a charge of assisting border jumpers," said Sup Manhai.
The minors were taken to Save the Children (UK) centre in the border town where they were offered temporary shelter.
"As police we continue to handle such cases of children being smuggled into South Africa though Beitbridge. We would like to warn Zimbabweans based in South Africa against approaching omalayitsha to help them smuggle their children. In fact, we continue to urge people to use the legal channels by acquiring travel documents," he said.
The latest incident after a similar case in which a 32-year-old Bulawayo based umalayitsha was arrested for attempting to smuggle a group of border jumpers, among them 21 undocumented children.
He was spotted by South African police while loading the border jumpers into his kombi near Musina leading to his arrest.
The border jumpers were then taken to the South African Home Affairs department and then handed over to the Zimbabwean authorities.
Soon after arriving in Beitbridge, omalayitsha normally help border jumpers cross the border into South Africa through undesignated entry points along the crocodile-infested Limpopo River.
They then drive to the South African side where they pick the border jumpers before ferrying them to their respective destinations for fees ranging between R300 and R1 500.
Source - Chronicle
