SIX NABBED OVER 17 TONNES OF T-SHIRTS

Six people, including ZIMRA officials and clearing agents, appeared in court yesterday facing charges of fraud after allegedly conspiring to evade US$78 880 in customs duty and VAT on 17,5 tonnes of imported cotton T-shirts.

The accused worked together to falsify documents and misrepresent the shipment as agricultural drip irrigation equipment, which is exempt from import duty.

The accused are: Jethro Mavangwa (41), director of Jeed Investments Pvt Ltd; Peter Ndamba (61), director of Rufaro Nenyasha Private Voluntary Organisation; Norest Chiureki Marara (51), a clearing agent with Secure Freight Pvt Ltd; Brian Simbachako (35), a ZIMRA revenue officer; Alford Toruvanda (37), another ZIMRA revenue officer; and Tony Chisuse (31), a truck driver.

They appeared before Harare regional magistrate Mrs Marehwanazvo Gofa charged with fraud. The State opposed bail and they were remanded in custody pending a bail ruling that will be handed down on Tuesday next week.

Prosecutor Mr Lancelot Mutsokoti alleged that in October last year, Mavangwa through his Jeed Investments, imported 1 066 cartons of cotton T-shirts weighing 17 573kg from Fin-Agri-Holding DOO in Slovenia.

The consignment was sealed at the Port of Koper, Slovenia, and transported to Beira, Mozambique, en route to Harare.

In February 2025, the shipment arrived in Beira. On March 4, Mavangwa approached CMA CGM shipping company in Harare to change the consignee details on the bill of lading from Jeed Investments Pvt Ltd to Rufaro Nenyasha Pvt Voluntary Organisation, allegedly to facilitate the fraud.

The accused then created fake shipping documents, falsely identifying the consignment as agricultural drip irrigation equipment from China Drip Irrigation Equipment Co Ltd, instead of T-shirts from Slovenia.

This misrepresentation was intended to exploit tax exemptions for agricultural goods. The consignment was transported by rail to the Manica warehouse in Harare on March 23, still sealed with its original Slovenian seal.

On April 17, clearing agent Marara subcontracted another agent, Best Gadzikwa Mawonera of Dawn Shipping Pvt Ltd, to handle ZIMRA clearance using the forged documents.

Relying on the fake invoices, Mawonera processed ZIMRA clearance on April 23, declaring the consignment as agricultural equipment.

ZIMRA officers Simbachako and Toruvanda, who were responsible for conducting physical inspections, allegedly cleared the shipment without verifying its contents.

The container was released on April 25 and transported to Bramfield Farm in Nyabira, where the T-shirts were offloaded without payment of import duty or VAT.

The court heard that ZIMRA suffered an actual loss of US$78 880,35 or ZiG$2 167 608,35 in unpaid duty and VAT.

The consignment was not recovered, and the accused are being charged with fraud for their roles in the scheme. Herald

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