BEITBRIDGE: the Zimbabwe Customs has nabbed a woman with 54 packs of mining explosives, 150 detonators, and nine detonator cords valued at over R320,000 which she wanted to sold to illegal miners in Gauteng.
Customs official conducted a random check of baggage in a bus crossing into South Africa from Zimbabwe, spokesperson Marika Muller said in a statement.
They found an unlabelled bag and asked for the owner.
“A female passenger came forward and informed the official the bag contained groundnuts. However, when the official conducted a manual search he found a black plastic bag concealed in the groundnuts.
“When questioned, the passenger attempted to flee but was brought back.”
The bag was found to contain packages with labels indicating the contents were mining-related.
“The passenger and her luggage were taken to the SA Police Service station at Beitbridge and the bag was confirmed.
Such explosives have been used to blow up cash machines in South Africa.
