Umm Muhammed Umar

Zimbabwe and South Africa border officials on Friday conducted a joint operation. They had collaborated to rid the border area of smugglers and irregular migrants. The operation saw members drawn from security clusters from both Zimbabwe and South Africa.

All Africa reports that scores were arrested travelling to both sides of the border. Border officials say the move was to restrict criminal activity, such as border jumping, touting, the use of fake immigration stamps as well as fake travel documents.

Acting Head of Immigration Services at Beitbridge, on the Zimbabwe side, Trustworthy Manatsir said “This was a very successful operation and we have arrested a number of people for offences related to illegal migration and the illegal movement of goods.” He said that the numbers, however, would only be released after all the migrants had been processed. Manatsire added the operation would be ongoing. Further, he urged those wishing to embark on cross-border travel to use only the formal border points, and to ensure that they carried the necessary documents.

Meanwhile, travellers must be vaccinated against Covid-19 in addition to holding a negative PCR test. Manatsire said, “Despite the recent re-opening of the land borders, we have realized that more and more people are still engaging in irregular migration.” He cited this as the reason for the joint operation between the neighbouring countries.

Border perimeter patrols have also been deployed to discourage so called agents from operating at the New Freight Terminal, as well as hawkers, and the movement of undocumented persons.

According to All Africa, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, 15 000 travellers had used the Beitbridge Border Pos,t daily. However, the number in 2020, dropped to just 2 000.