Cops seize illicit brandy
FRANCISTOWN: Tshesebe police have seized 4,758 bottles of King Stallion brandy on two different occasions along the Botswana-Zimbabwe borderline with an estimated street value of about P237,900.
In the course of a stepped-up drive fight against COVID-19 by prohibiting the consumption of alcohol, liquor smuggling is increasingly becoming a problem in some villages along the BotswanaZimbabwe borderline. A 250ml bottle of King Stallion brandy has a street value of about P50.
Confirming the incidents, Tshesebe police station commander, Superintendent Amos Kekgathetse said they arrested seven people who were caught red-handed after allegedly smuggling alcohol along the Botswana-Zimbabwe border on two separate incidents.
He said on Monday this week, the police nabbed three people, a Motswana woman aged between 30 and 35 years together with two male illegal immigrants in connection with smuggling illicit alcohol in their policing area. He stated that the suspects were arrested near Tsamaya junction around 4am driving towards Francistown.
Kekgathetse said the suspects were stopped during a random police stop-and-search operation on suspicion that the culprits were violating curfew hours. He indicated that upon searching the suspects’ car, the police found the trio in possession of 2,640 bottles of King Stallion (200ml) brandy.
According to Kekgathetse, this incident was the second incident in a space of a day, as on Saturday they arrested four persons who were also caught redhanded along the border smuggling a lot of illicit King Stallion brandy bottles.
He further said the quartet including two locals and illegal immigrants were aged between 30 and 45 years.
He added that the quartet was found smuggling 2,118 bottles of King Stallion brandy (200ml), which were later seized from them by the law enforcement officers who were patrolling along the border. He said the culprits were arrested after a tip-off from a concerned citizen.
Kekgathetse explained that all the culprits are still in police cells and have been charged with nondeclaration of goods and violating the COVID-19 curfew guidelines. He said there was a penalty for smuggling alcohol, and those caught on the wrong side of the law are liable to pay a fine not less than P5,000. He further said it has come to their attention that the alcohol smugglers work in a syndicate.
The station commander further said if the smugglers continue with the illicit business they are going to evade tax that can contribute to the downfall of the economy.
He noted that the illicit alcohol trade might also pose a health risk to the consumers as they were not tested and not even certified to be sold here.
The police boss further said smuggling alcohol would scupper government efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19. He believed that there is a thriving black market for illicit liquor here (Francistown and surrounding) as most of the suspects revealed that they were staying there.
He expressed gratitude to the community for reporting illegal activities in his policing area so that wrong doers can be taken to task.