279kg of mbanje at accident scene: Kombi driver and conductor flee on foot after crashing at police roadblock

A routine police stop on the Harare–Masvingo Highway turned into a major drug seizure after a kombi carrying 279.38kg of dagga crashed while trying to avoid a roadblock in the early hours of Friday.

The Nissan NV350, registration AGS 6929, was travelling towards Chivhu when it reached the 188km peg, where Zimbabwe Republic Police officers were conducting stop-and-search operations. At about 0340 hours on September 4, the driver swerved off the road and struck a parked vehicle as he attempted to get past the checkpoint.

Instead of waiting for police, the driver and another man abandoned the kombi and ran into nearby bushes. Officers searched the vehicle and found 17 bags of mbanje hidden inside. The street value of the consignment had not yet been determined.

Police national spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the recovery and said a manhunt had been launched for the two men who escaped from the scene.

The crash brought the alleged drug movement to an abrupt end, but it also left investigators with important questions about where the consignment had come from, who was meant to receive it and how the vehicle had reached the roadblock without attracting attention. For motorists travelling along the highway at that time, the incident began as a collision involving a commuter vehicle and ended with officers securing hundreds of kilogrammes of cannabis.

The escape follows a series of cases in which drivers and bus crew members have tried to leave vehicles behind when police searches exposed drugs or unregistered medicines on Zimbabwe’s main transport routes.

In one of the most unusual cases, a haulage truck driver jumped from a moving police vehicle after officers intercepted his truck on the Masvingo–Beitbridge Highway. Dzikamai Chimunda, 48, from Southlands Park in Harare, was being taken to the Criminal Investigations Department Drugs and Narcotics section in Masvingo after a search of his Freightliner Argosy uncovered a mixed consignment of cough syrup and mbanje.

The truck, owned by Bindura Haulage Pvt Ltd and pulling two trailers, had been stopped at the 120km peg on August 5 after detectives received information about suspected smuggling. Police recovered 370 bottles of 100ml Broncleer cough syrup, 120 bottles of 100ml Astra cough syrup and approximately 20kg of mbanje. The consignment was valued at more than US$5,000.

The police account said Chimunda initially drove away when detectives signalled him to stop near the Exor service station in Masvingo and requested permission to search the vehicle. He later slowed down, left the cab and disappeared into nearby bush. Detectives managed to bring the unattended truck under control before it crashed into other vehicles.

The escape did not end there. While being escorted to the CID Drugs and Narcotics section, Chimunda reportedly jumped from the moving police vehicle near the Nyanda area and ran into a forest. The following morning, he telephoned his employers and told them he was resigning. He also said he had left the truck in Masvingo.

His whereabouts remained unknown as police appealed for information. The drug recovery was recorded in the police account in these words: “A search was conducted into the vehicle leading to the recovery of 370 x 100ml bottles of Broncleer cough syrup, 120 x 100ml bottles of Astra cough syrup and approximately 20kg of mbanje.”

Another major escape occurred in November 2025 when two conductors fled from a Beitbridge-bound bus after police intercepted it at the Kadoma Tollgate. Detectives from CID Karoi had received information about the vehicle, a bus operated by Mandeep Ndomboya Logistics, and stopped it at about 12.20am.

The two drivers, Cletos Mutavu and Luckmore Farai, both aged 43, were arrested. The conductors ran away when police signalled the bus to stop and remained at large as officers continued searching for them.

The bus was escorted to Kadoma Police Station, where officers found 40 pockets of loose skunk mbanje weighing 83kg. The cannabis had been wrapped in coloured sellotape and packed in cardboard boxes and sacks. Police also recovered 80 bottles of 100ml Astra Pain syrup concealed in black plastic bags. The drugs were valued at about US$240,000.

The case showed how drug consignments can move through long-distance passenger services, using vehicles that travel between major towns and border points during the night. It also showed the different roles that can emerge when a bus is stopped: the drivers were taken into custody, while the conductors left the scene before the search was completed.

The Masvingo–Beitbridge corridor has featured in several other drug seizures. In September 2024, police stopped an Inter Africa bus at the 10km peg on the Masvingo–Beitbridge Road and recovered 62kg of dagga. The cannabis was found during a security roadblock. The driver, Tonderai Mafo, the conductor, Mberikunashe Allen, and two passengers, Pauline Mudakuvaka and Alice Mutanda, were arrested.

That seizure came during intensified checks aimed at cross-border crime along the route, which carries passenger buses, commuter vehicles, haulage trucks and private cars between central Zimbabwe and the Beitbridge border crossing. The corridor is used by legitimate travellers and commercial operators, but its heavy traffic also creates opportunities for people attempting to move contraband over long distances.

The latest incident on the Harare–Masvingo Highway adds a different pattern to the growing list of cases. There was no completed search followed by arrests of the occupants. The vehicle crashed before it could pass the checkpoint, and the men inside chose to run, leaving the police to recover the consignment from the wrecked kombi.

The 17 bags recovered from the Nissan are now central to the investigation. Police are looking for the driver and his accomplice, while officers are expected to trace the vehicle’s movements and establish its intended destination. The abandoned kombi, its registration number and the location of the crash may help investigators identify the route taken before the roadblock.

For police officers on the highway, the operation ended with the recovery of a large quantity of dagga. For road users, it also highlighted the danger created when drivers carrying suspected contraband attempt to avoid a checkpoint at speed. In this case, the attempt ended with a collision, an abandoned vehicle and two men disappearing into the darkness on foot.

Commissioner Nyathi said the manhunt for the two suspects was continuing. Police have urged anyone with information about the driver or the man who fled with him to report it to the nearest police station.