THE Department of Customs and Excise has deployed drones as part of efforts to reduce cases of smuggling along the country’s borders.
Briefing journalists, who toured the Beitbridge Border Post yesterday as part of a three-day media tax education workshop, Beitbridge regional manager for Customs and Excise, Lonto Ndlovu said drones currently in use cover a 10km radius from the border post.
“To increase our patrols, we will use long-range drones which can go up to 100km from base,” Ndlovu said.
“We have already seen an improvement in our collections after the introduction of drones and our warehouses are full of goods intercepted using the drone technology.”
Journalists witnessed the live streaming of footage captured by a drone which patrolled the course of the Limpopo River picking up illegal activities including smuggling across the river.
The journalists, drawn from southern Zimbabwe, were taken on a guided tour of the upgraded border post.
Ndlovu said the automation of Beitbridge Border Post had improved clearance time for commercial vehicles, whose down time at the border has been reduced to just three hours.
The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority has partnered the United Nations Development Programme to train journalists on taxation processes.
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