Soldier held for smuggling vehicles into Zimbabwe

A NINTH member of the SANDF has been arrested in connection with cross-border vehicle smuggling, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) said yesterday.

The arrest comes after eight SANDF members were arrested in the North West, Free State and Northern Cape on June 21 in a sting operation carried out by the Hawks, National Intervention Unit and SANDF members under the project dubbed “Night Vigil”.

Hawks spokesperson in Limpopo, Captain Matimba Maluleke, said between 2017 and 2019, the accused soldiers were deployed at the Beitbridge border post “to protect the territorial integrity” of South Africa.

“Instead of carrying out their constitutional mandate, the accused allegedly connived with vehicle smuggling syndicates to smuggle stolen vehicles via the Limpopo River. It is further alleged that for each vehicle, they were paid R15 000 that would be shared among themselves,” said Maluleke.

“The accused were on the radar of the Hawks until arrested. The suspect (the one arrested on Monday) will appear in the Musina Magistrate’s Court soon to face corruption charges.”

Maluleke said the eight other accused soldiers are out on R3 000 bail. They return to court on October 25.

In June, two soldiers were arrested for allegedly transporting illicit cigarettes across the border between South Africa and Zimbabwe, using an SANDF vehicle.

The police spokesperson in Polokwane, Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo, said the two soldiers were arrested along with a 30-year-old undocumented foreign national.

He said police at Beitbridge received information about an army vehicle loaded with illicit cigarettes which were to be delivered to an unidentified buyer around Musina.

“They staged a stop-and-search operation next to the Baobab Truck Park along the N1 road north of Musina …12 boxes of illicit cigarettes were found.”