Police have widened investigations into the smuggling of 23 gold pieces worth US$783 000 by a Zimbabwean who was arrested in South Africa, and are waiting for a detailed report from Interpol officials based in Pretoria, which will be critical in assisting their inquiry.
This comes as Parliament has summoned Home Affairs and
Cultural Heritage Minister, Kazembe Kazembe, to give a ministerial statement on
the security situation at the country’s ports of entry and exit following a
surge in cases of smuggling which are prejudicing the country of millions of
dollars.
Minister Kazembe was directed to issue the statement by
Speaker of Parliament Advocate Jacob Mudenda after a request by Dzivaresekwa
legislator, Mr Edwin Mushoriwa.
A suspect, Tashinga Nyasha Masinire (33), was found in
possession of 23 pieces of gold allegedly smuggled from Zimbabwe.
He was arrested at OR Tambo International Airport on Sunday
by South Africa’s anti-organised crime unit, the Hawks and is facing charges of
contravening the Customs Act 91 of 1964 and Precious Metals Act 37 of 2005.
Masinire has since appeared in the Kempton Park regional
court in Gauteng province and granted R100 000 bail and ordered to not leave
the country until the matter has been finalised.
Masinire was also ordered to report at any nearest police
station three times per week. The matter was remanded to the July 1.
Ordinary citizens in Zimbabwe are concerned over the
circumstances under which Masinire passed through security checkpoints at the
Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, without declaring his luggage,
only to be arrested in South Africa.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul
Nyathi told The Herald yesterday that they were determined to get to the bottom
of the matter.
“It is something that we are currently seized with. We are
presently waiting for a full report from Interpol offices in Pretoria. It is
really a case of interest which the police are investigating.
“We want to know if he (Masinire) was alone by the time he
got to the airport, was he under escort and did he declare the luggage or was
the luggage with someone?” he said.
On arrival at OR Thambo International Airport, Masinire was
requested to scan his luggage at the international arrivals customs section of
the South African Revenue Service (SARS), and 23 pieces of gold were allegedly
found in his luggage.
It was then established that he had not declared the goods
and did not have a permit to transport the gold.
The Hawks were then called to effect the arrest. Masinire’s
arrest comes about seven months after Zimbabwe Miners Federation president Henrietta
Rushwaya was arrested at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport with 6kg
of gold worth US$366 destined for Dubai.
Rushwaya’s case is still before the courts. Government has
indicated its desire to fight corruption across all sectors of the economy but
despite the many arrests in the recent past as the Second Republic intensifies
the fight against graft, some officials at ports of entry and exit and in
critical offices, continue to engage in the vice.
Several top ranking officials including ministers and
permanent secretaries such as former ministers Obadiah Moyo and Prisca
Mupfumira, have been arrested and appeared in court over corruption and their
cases are at different stages. Herald
0 comments:
Post a Comment