Placido Hilukilwa
DRAMATIC incidents are unfolding on the Namibia-Angola border as Namibian police and their Angolan counterparts intensify the crackdown on cross-border smuggling of illicit goods, including fuel.
In a recent incident on the Angolan side, two suspects on a motorcycle carrying three 25-litre containers of fuel towards the Namibian border were intercepted by Angolan police on the Ondjiva-Santa Clara main road.
They refused to stop. A pursuit ensued, and a police officer was slightly injured after his moving motorcycle was kicked by one of the fleeing suspects.
VIDEO: Motorcycle-mounted Angolan police officers chase fuel smugglers in a pursuit that ended in an accident. Video: Social media
The Angolan police said that the suspects were eventually traced and arrested.
The porous land border stretches 400 kilometres from Ruacana on the Cunene River to Katwitwi on the banks of the Kavango River. There are multiple gazetted entry points and countless informal footpaths, but smugglers avoid them all.
They cross the border illegally to move contraband, with fuel being the most lucrative.
Namibian smugglers trade in illicit goods imported illegally from Angola, such as fuel, cigarettes, counterfeit medicines, second-hand clothes, and alcohol.
Angolan smugglers, on the other hand, obtain consumer goods in Namibia legally but return to their country by crossing the border illegally to avoid paying import tax.
The Namibia Revenue Agency and the Namibian Police continue with their crackdown, but there is simply no quick fix to cross-border crimes.
PICTURED: An Angolan border guard stops a young man who had just crossed the border illegally carrying two bags of brown sugar. Photo: Contributed
