Online Reporter
Bmetro Reporter
A BOLD cigarette smuggler’s high-stakes gamble went up in smoke after border authorities nabbed him trying to sneak 500 cartons of Remington Gold past the Beitbridge Border Post.
Ringai Bisitara (44), a truck driver from Chitungwiza, will be swapping his trucker’s seat for a prison bed after he was sentenced to four years behind bars for smuggling. The law caught up with him at the Beitbridge Magistrates’ Court, where he learned the hard way that crime doesn’t pay.
On March 22, Bisitara, employed by On Part Rams Transport, was behind the wheel of a South African-registered truck en route from Harare to South Africa. But his paperwork didn’t quite add up, raising red flags for border officials. A thorough search of his vehicle revealed a stash of contraband cigarettes cleverly concealed – but not well enough.
The drama escalated when the defiant driver attempted to move the truck despite being ordered to stop. His reckless move backfired as authorities swiftly impounded the vehicle, sealing his fate.
With no bill of entry for the cigarettes, Bisitara was left without a leg to stand on. The contraband was seized, and so was the truck – a costly lesson in dodging the law.
Authorities have vowed to continue cracking down on cigarette smuggling, which has become a lucrative but risky business at the country’s borders
Peter Tanyanyiwa