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Freeman Razemba in DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania 

THE Zimbabwe Republic Police team has so far scooped 17 gold , 24 silver and 11 bronze medals at the on-going 11th edition of the Southern Africa Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisations (SARPCCO) Games being held here in Tanzania. 

The medals all came from the athletics team, darts and chess so far. 

Tanzania has 16 gold, nine silver and nine bronze, making it a total of 34 medals.

Namibia Police has five gold, two silver and 12 bronze while Swaziland has three gold and one bronze. 

Malawi has one gold and one bronze, Zambia has one gold medal only while Mozambique has three bronze only. DRC hasn’t obtained any medals as yet. 

The 11th edition of the SARPCCO Games are expected to end on September 15. 

The games are meant to create a platform for police officers from the region to engage in fruitful interaction, sharing ideas on policing traditions and fostering regional friendship, understanding and cooperation through sport. 

In 2019, the ZRP won the overall trophy at the 10th edition of these games, which were held in Angola, for the fifth time in a row.

Team Zimbabwe scooped 20 gold, 25 silver and 21 bronze medals to make it a total of 66 medals. 

Team Zimbabwe also received trophies for netball, athletics and darts. 

SARPCCO is the primary force in Southern Africa in the prevention and fighting of cross-border crimes. 

Formed in 1995 in Zimbabwe, the organisation has firmly established itself as a benchmark for international police cooperation. 

This regional organisation is supported by the Sub-Regional Bureau of Interpol in Harare, which coordinates its activities and programmes. 

Priority crimes in the SADC region are terrorism, motor vehicle thefts, drugs and counterfeit pharmaceuticals, economic and commercial crimes, firearms and explosives, trafficking in gold, diamonds and other precious stones and metals, crimes against women and children, illegal immigrants and stolen and lost travel documents, wildlife crime and endangered species and human trafficking.