Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
A 28-year-old customs clearing agent from Beitbridge has appeared in court facing allegations of involvement in a fraudulent vehicle import syndicate, in which he allegedly defrauded a Harare-based civil servant of US$15 700 in a failed car import deal.
There has been a recent surge in bogus clearing agents targeting unsuspecting car importers, luring them with promises of vehicles from South Africa at significantly reduced prices. Unfortunately, many of these fraudsters vanish after receiving payments or deposits.
In the latest case, Evans Nzara of Khwalu 1 suburb in Beitbridge was arrested in January for an offence committed in May last year. He had reportedly been hiding in South Africa until his arrest.
Nzara is accused of defrauding Hamufari Mugauri, a civil servant, under the pretext of importing a 2014 Toyota Hilux single cab. He appeared before Beitbridge resident magistrate Mr Takudzwa Gwazemba facing a charge of fraud. He was not asked to plead and was remanded to June 24 for a possible trial, pending further police investigations.
According to the State, led by prosecutor Miss Olivia Chimutinya, the complainant approached Nzara on 10 May last year seeking assistance to import a vehicle from South Africa.
Nzara claimed he could facilitate the shipment and, by May 15, informed Mugauri that he had located the vehicle for US$10 700.
Mugauri was instructed to deposit the funds into a CABS bank account allegedly belonging to Nzara’s company.
He deposited US$10 200, which Nzara acknowledged via WhatsApp, followed by an additional US$700 sent through EcoCash on the same day.
Nzara reportedly purchased a vehicle in South Africa but failed to deregister it as agreed.
Instead, he fraudulently cleared it into Zimbabwe by allegedly manipulating the Temporary Import Permit (TIP) facility.
Upon delivery, Mugauri discovered the vehicle was a 2010 model — not the 2014 model he had paid for — and that it had not been deregistered in South Africa.
When he raised concerns, Nzara promised to rectify the issue and requested an additional US$4 800 to complete the registration process, which Mugauri paid.
In September, Nzara claimed the process was complete and sent a customs receipt as proof. However, the fraud was exposed when the vehicle was impounded by police in Harare for lacking registration plates.
Subsequent investigations revealed that Nzara had used a fake TIP to import the vehicle and had doctored the vehicle registration certificate. It was also discovered that no import duty had been paid and that the customs duty receipt shown to Mugauri was forged.
Nzara was eventually arrested in January after detectives lured him into a trap.
