KASANE - Kasane police on Monday morning arrested 71 illegal aliens mostly Zimbabweans in efforts to clean the area ahead of the festive season.

Officer commanding for the area, Mr Kgosietsile Kgosintwa said the immigrants were from Zimbabwe and Zambian.

Quite a lot of them are Zimbabweans but there are some from Zambia, he said, adding that most of them worked for some construction companies.

Chobe is one of the areas in Botswana that is battling to arrest the influx of illegal immigrants in search of better social services such as hospital care and employment opportunities.

As a result, the Kasane township is targeted by criminals from neighbouring countries.

In the previous week, several house breakings were reported in both Kasane and Kazungula culminating with the police shooting and wounding a suspected Zimbabwean robber when he tried to escape after being found with stolen goods.

The trend now shows that we have more housebreakings at Lesoma and Kazungula, said Mr Kgosintwa.

He said they have charged those who were harboring the aliens. Some of the aliens have been handed over to their countries of origin, he said.

Mr Kgosintwa said they were unable to do their night and day patrols thoroughly because of the danger posed by the wild animals.

We are trying but the challenge is the wild animals; we are often forced to have a vehicle somewhere on standby nearby for rescue purposes in case we are attacked by these animals, he said.

Meanwhile, a primary school child was mauled by a crocodile while swimming in the Chobe River last week.

The student has been admitted at Kasane Primary Hospital with severe injuries after escaping from the attacking reptile.

The latest incident follows repeated warnings by the police who are dissuading the community from using the Chobe River for swimming.

Parents should talk to their children so that they stop swimming in that river as it is dangerous. We are aware that for the local people the river is a source of life but we do not condone swimming as it is dangerous to do so, he said.BOPA