AUTHORITIES at
Beitbridge Border Post have intercepted 21 tonnes of salad cream worth R470 000
being smuggled from South Africa to Harare.
The Hash Logistics Truck was intercepted by the Ferret
Squad on Thursday night at the last check point when it was about to leave for
Harare.
It is reported that the owner of the consignment and their
customs clearing agent who are still under investigations wanted to ship their
consignment without any documents except the gate pass and the driver’s
passport.
The driver, Obvious Muchazivepi (45) of 8724 Kuwadzana
Phase 3 in Harare has since arrested by the police, while the customs clearing
agent is still at large. Matabeleland South police spokesperson Chief Inspector
Philisani Ndebele said he was yet to get details on the matter.
However, a source within the Ferret Squad which is made up
of the police and other security agents said they were still pursuing the agent
and the owner.
“They wanted to smuggle a consignment of 2400 cases of
salad cream without any customs documents,” said the source.
“The truck was intercepted at the last check point when it
was about to leave for Harare. The driver and the agent were asked to produce
clearance documents and they failed.
“The truck towing trailers with registration numbers, HP 05
VZ GP and HP 05 WH GP was then taken to the Container Depot (Condep) for
physical examination. The customs agent fled during the physical examination”.
The official said the truck and the consignment have since
been seized by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority under notice of seizure numbers
021514L and 021515L respectively.
According to the official, the total value of import duty
prejudice to the State is not yet known though it is calculated at 40 percent
of the import value. Chronicle
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