Photos show contraband smuggled into South Africa from Zimbabwe, not other way round
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on September 15, 2022 at 14:17
- 3 min read
- By Tendai DUBE, AFP South Africa
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“Zimbabweans collecting medication from south African clinics pretending to be sick and smuggling it to zim (sic),” reads a Facebook post published on September 7, 2022.
The post includes three photographs: one of a carry bag filled with blister packs containing medication, and another two showing men and soldiers in the bushveld surrounded by large packages sealed in plastic.
The same claim about the images was retweeted thousands of times on Twitter.
Some social media users believed the claim and expressed support for Phophi Ramathuba, the political head of health in South Africa’s Limpopo province who was filmed ranting at a Zimbabwean patient in a state medical facility, saying foreigners were placing additional pressure on the country’s public healthcare system.
The claim, however, is misleading.
Vice versa
A reverse image search of the picture with the tablets led to a statement posted on Facebook by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) describing recent successes with various anti-smuggling operations, one of which included a seizure of pills ─ the same ones in the picture shared with the misleading claim.
According to the statement, the pills were being smuggled into South Africa ─ not out.
“At Echo 2 our soldiers confiscated what is called Control L Hormonal Contraceptives pills valued at R423 916.00 (approximately $24,000) which were being smuggled into South Africa from Zimbabwe,” reads the SANDF statement, published on September 5, 2022.
The statement detailed other recent busts of illegal goods, including sneakers and firearms, and included the two photos of large, black packages.
This illicit trade of medication from Zimbabwe to South Africa is not new. An April 2021 report by non-profit news agency GroundUp said it was spurred by demand from Zimbabwean women in South Africa who preferred to use familiar brands rather than local options.
Traders also told GroundUp that women turned to this illegal market to avoid long queues at clinics.
The article includes a photo of the packaging for Control contraceptive pills. The box carries the Zimbabwean health ministry’s logo in the bottom left corner.
The same pill is listed on the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council website as a contraceptive.
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