A 44-year-old Beitbridge man believed to be part of a syndicate using fake customs and immigration stamps to clear travellers and goods at the border post, has been fined $100 000.
Thomas Chidza of 3600 in Dulivhadzimu was arrested on March
19 by border security officials during a sting operation at his bogus
immigration office. He was brought to court charged with possession of articles
for criminal use.
Beitbridge resident magistrate Mr Toyindepi Zhou slapped
Chidza with a $100 000 fine or 12-month imprisonment and suspended another six
months for five years. In default of paying the fine, he risks doing time in
prison for six months.
Prosecuting, Mr Cloudios Karinga said Chidza was nabbed at
around 2am on March 19 after assisting a South African bus crew member to enter
Zimbabwe by endorsing his passport with a fake immigration stamp the previous
day.
He said police found Chidza in possession of two fake
Zimbabwean immigration date stamps, three fake South African immigration date
stamps and one inkpad.
The court heard that he was also in possession of seven
passports belonging to Norman Mandaza, Handsome Luphahla, Moses Djaji, Samuel
Kasimu, Maimba Stanley Chimwende, Wilson Banda and Majidhu Kazembe, which had
come for clearance.
Chidza was subsequently arrested and his tools of the trade
were confiscated. Chidza’s arrest comes a few years after the fake stamps’
syndicates were dismantled by border officials when they nabbed two of the
kingpins with 48 fake immigration and customs stamps.
Vanu Juawo and Osman Sibanda were found in possession of 41
replica stamps of the South African Immigration Department and seven imitations
of the Zimbabweans immigration authorities’ date stamps.
The two were busted soon after endorsing the fake stamps on
six passports.
In 2017, a 29-year-old Zimbabwean man, Duncan Danda, was
jailed for six years by a Musina (South Africa) magistrate for opening an
illegal office at that country’s component of the border.
He was arrested at his base within the border taxi rank by
the specialized crime unit, The Hawks, and was convicted on two counts of
contravening a section of the Immigration Act.
For the first count, he was sentenced to six years
imprisonment set aside for five years, and fined R10 000 for the second count. Danda
was giving prospective travellers a stay of up to 90 days in that country.
Under South Africa’s immigration laws, Zimbabweans are
allowed a stay not more than 90 days per year in that country. Herald
0 comments:
Post a Comment