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Crime Reporter
The South African Police Services (SAPS) have arrested a Zimbabwean man on allegations of trying to smuggle explosives into their country in a hearse via Beitbridge Border Post.

The suspect was towing a trailer branded with the name of a funeral undertaker based in Gauteng when he was caught at Beitbridge on Monday.

SAPS searched the vehicle and the trailer and found 306 blasting cartridges as well as four detonating cords with a value of R708 000 and arrested the driver.

SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said, “Members of the South Africa Police Service working at the Beitbridge border post have arrested a 30-year-old man for allegedly smuggling explosives into the country using a funeral parlour branded vehicle. The suspect will appear in the Musina Magistrates Court soon on a charge of smuggling and possession of explosives.”

Last week, SAPS arrested two suspects aged 36 and 44, at Beitbridge Border Post for smuggling illicit cigarettes worth nearly R7 million hidden in a petrol tanker.

Brigadier Mojapelo said officers were carrying out routine duties at the border post when they stopped the petrol tanker that was sealed at the top.

“Five hundred and twenty-three master boxes containing thousands of cartons of illicit cigarettes were found hidden in a specially made compartment in the tanker,” he said.

Limpopo Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Nneke Ledwaba commended the members and all other role players for their alertness and dedication in finding the cigarettes and arresting the suspects.