At least 70 cases of pickpocketing were reported in one day alone as thieves descended on Beitbridge border post, it has emerged.
A security guard employed by a company contracted by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) said scores of known pickpockets and other off-duty police officers, and people familiar with border post activities, on Tuesday swamped the border post taking advantage of crowds.
“About 70 cases of pickpocketing were reported. Notorious thieves, touts, off duty police officers and guards are all here to make money,” the guard said.
He said some travellers were attacked within crowds in the immigration hall.
Some tricksters used remote controls to render useless remote systems of the travellers’ cars that they later ransacked.
“The tricksters activate a remote control simultaneously with someone using that system to lock their car neutralising the operation.
“The car fails to lock and when someone is absorbed in the proceedings they steal from the car,” the guard said.
For some reason processing of travellers took a dip yesterday with some complaining of having been at the border for more than six hours.
Some border officials blamed the delays on the untimely deployment of loss control officers supervising customs officers.
“The officers then invoked 100 % searches resulting in service slowing down,” a cross-border transporter said. “Loss control officers cannot be deployed this time. Most people are just holiday-makers with valid rebate claims.”
Long meandering queues of vehicles could be seen at the “Malume” side of the border which handles cross-border and all trailer towing vehicles.
Some travellers accused security guards of looking aside as pickpockets wreaked havoc.
The officer in charge of the Border Control Unit an Inspector Barikano referred all questions to the Matabeleland South police press office which was not picking calls at the time of going to print.
