A South African court handed a 42-year-old undocumented Zimbabwean woman an effective 15-year jail term for smuggling explosives worth R168,000 into that country. The contraband is used by highway robbers for cash in transit jobs.
The woman, Mercy Rifundo, was arrested on August 17 last year by South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) in Limpopo soon after entering into through Beitbridge Border Post.
She was also fined R20 000 for violating South Africa’s immigration laws, of travelling without any valid documents. This comes few months after two Zimbabwean men were also jailed for an effective 15 years by the Musina Regional Court for smuggling explosives worth R470 000 into South Africa.
The Hawks have taken advantage of curfews and lockdown to crack crack down criminal activities around Limpopo province.
