Police in Matabeleland North have launched Operation Kutakura Tsotso, targeting illegal transportation of property and minerals in the province.
Officer commanding police in the province, Senior Assistant Commissioner Edmore Veterai, yesterday said the operation was launched on Monday last week and would run until the end of the month.
He said the operation was conceived after they received information that such criminal activities were on the rise in the area.
“We are going to be targeting those carrying meat, livestock, minerals and any goods without proper documentation,” he said.
“We have already set up roadblocks and motorists should be ready to be stopped and searched. All goods found without proper documentation will be forfeited to the State and the culprits arrested.”
Matabeleland North, a prime cattle-producing area, is a target for rustlers perennially. Early last year, a group of Zambian rustlers, popularly known as Kanjanis and armed with AK rifles, terrorised villagers in the Zambezi Valley, robbing their cattle at gunpoint before crossing with them into Zambia.
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The province, home to many wildlife species, has also fallen prey to poachers.
Veterai said the police would also go as far as searching households to recover stolen property.