Anti-Machete Gangs, Cross-border Crimes: Police Arrest 188k Since 2021

The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has announced that over 188 000 people have been arrested since the beginning of the launch of operations against machete gangs and cross-border crimes last year.

In a statement, the ZRP said the operations have been carried out across the country, and are still ongoing. Pindula News presents the statement:

On June 19, police arrested 239 people countrywide in the operation ‘No to cross-border crimes’. So far, 160 616 people have been arrested since the operation began.

Meanwhile, on June 19, 2022 police throughout the country arrested 130 people during the operation, ‘No to machetes gangs.’ Cumulative arrests since January 1, 2022, now stand at 26 675.

Machete gangs surfaced around 2019 when they were targeting mainly mining towns such as Kwekwe and Mazowe.

They would invade mines whilst some physically and sexually attacked members of the public in those towns.

Prominent machete groups are MaShurugwi and Al Shabab. 

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