Zambia Police set up a special anti-smuggling wing on the Copperbelt

Zambia Police set up a special anti-smuggling wing on the Copperbelt

Ndola, March 27, 2013, ZANIS – POLICE on the Copperbelt have instituted a special operations wing to curb the rampant smuggling of mealie meal and other goods into the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) through the Kasumbalesa border.

Assistant Staff Officer for Kitwe Joseph Chitambo says new wing has so far seized over 24, 000 by 25kg bags of mealie meal and other assorted goods.

ZANIS reports that this development was heard when Agriculture Deputy Minister Rodgers Mwewa visited the border post, today.

The minister is in the province to check on the roaming shortage of mealie meal.

Mr. Chitambo told the minister that police were in the border town to ensure that mealie meal was available in the province.

The special operations wing which has been operational at the border post for ten days has among the seized goods 24, 579 by 25kg bags of mealie meal, 282 by 50kg bags of sugar, 44 by 20liters of cooking oil and ten by five crates of Simba larger beer all destined for DRC.

And Zambia Revenue Authority officer Levy Simantimbe at Kasumbalesa told Mr. Mwewa that the border was to porous that people managed to smuggle goods into DRC without passing through ZRA offices.