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Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
THE Ferret team which is made up of various security agencies, has intercepted a commercial truck carrying 19.6 tonnes of suspected stolen telephone and electricity cables worth thousands of dollars which was being smuggled out of the country through Beitbridge Border Post.
Owners of the contraband had allegedly made a false declaration to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) that they were shipping out seven tonnes of copper granules.
The truck driver was arrested last Saturday when he was about to leave the country for South Africa.
According to one security official, the truck was intercepted soon after going through mobile cargo scanning.
The mobile scanners use density to verify the consignment against information declared on the commercial Bill of Entry.
“The vehicle was scanned and it imaged that a false declaration had been made. The driver, who has since been arrested, was followed as he was about to leave the country and the vehicle was taken for physical examination.
“It was discovered that it was carrying 19,6 tonnes of scrap copper mostly telephone and electricity cables believed to have been stolen from TelOne and Zesa. The contraband and the South African registered truck have since been seized by Zimra under notice of seizure numbers 014147 and 014145 respectively,” said a security official at the border.
The source said the value of the copper was yet to be ascertained adding TelOne and Zesa were still segregating the cables to establish the exact quantities belonging to them. Police officer commanding Beitbridge district, Chief Supt Tichaona Nyongo said he was yet to get more details on the matter.
The smuggling of copper cables and related material is rife between Zimbabwe and South Africa, with those involved in this crime hiding the contraband mostly in false truck compartments.
A few months ago, authorities arrested thieves at the burnt state warehouse at Beitbridge Border Post where they were targeting copper cables and related products still trapped under the debris.
Property worth around $190 000 was destroyed when the warehouse on the commercial exports section caught fire in January last year. The warehouse was loaded with an assortment of goods seized from travellers.
Online Reporter