10 000 Bullets Found In Washing Powder Boxes In Highway Sting Operation

A nighttime operation on a major Zimbabwean highway has led to the shocking discovery of 10 000 bullets cleverly concealed within boxes of a common household product. The incident, which occurred earlier this month, has left authorities scrambling for answers after a suspect made a ghost-like disappearance into the wilderness.

The drama unfolded on the evening of 5 November along the Bulawayo-Beitbridge highway. According to official reports, a Criminal Investigations Department (CID) patrol team, part of the ongoing ‘Operation No to Cross Border Crimes’, spotted a lone individual seated at a bus stop near the 319-kilometre peg. The man was accompanied by two large boxes, but before officers could even fully disembark from their vehicle, he sprang into action.

A police insider described the scene, stating,

“As soon as our detectives stopped, the man bolted into the thickets towards the east. It was a moonless night, and he was swallowed by the darkness almost instantly.”

A frantic chase ensued, but the mysterious figure had vanished without a trace, leaving behind only the two suspicious containers.

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10 000 Bullets Found In Washing Powder Boxes

With the suspect gone, the focus turned to the boxes he had abandoned. To the untrained eye, they appeared to be ordinary containers of MAQ washing powder. However, a closer inspection revealed a sophisticated smuggling attempt. Inside the cardboard boxes were layers of cartons, meticulously wrapped in black tape and chillingly labelled ‘Cartridges Small Arms’.

The true scale of the find was only realised after a full inventory. Investigators revealed that the haul consisted of 10 000 live rounds of 9mm ammunition, methodically packed into smaller boxes and packets. The sheer volume of the discovery sent shockwaves through the security forces on the scene. A source close to the investigation remarked, “This recovery is a major breakthrough in the fight against cross border crime. Whoever was transporting that quantity of live rounds was clearly not up to anything lawful.”

A Massive Manhunt Yields No Clues

Within minutes of the discovery, the area was flooded with reinforcements from the ZRP Support Unit, the Canine Section, and the Zimbabwe National Army. A full-scale search was launched, with officers and tracker dogs combing the dense bush in a wide radius. Despite the extensive efforts, the man had evaporated. Authorities confirmed that no footprints, discarded clothing, or nearby structures offered any clue to his whereabouts or identity.

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The Matabeleland South police spokesperson, Inspector Chiratidzo Dube, confirmed the incident but could not provide further details as the investigation is ongoing. The recovered ammunition, whose value is estimated to run into thousands of US Dollars (tens of thousands of Rand), is now secured as evidence at CID Beitbridge. Detectives are now working on the theory that the ammunition was being moved by a sophisticated regional smuggling syndicate, highlighting the ongoing challenges of securing the porous southern border against the illegal weapons trade.