Customs officer steals truck from ailing client

Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Reporter
A CUSTOMS clearing agent based at Beitbridge Border Post allegedly preyed on his ill client to steal from him a haulage truck carrying 34 tonnes of cobalt from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Beitbridge top cop Chief Superintendent Patrick Majuta said the agent, working in cahoots with two other suspects, drove off with the truck after stealing the ignition keys from the driver Christopher Chitauro, 50, who was admitted at Beitbridge District Hospital suffering from malaria last Friday.

Chief Supt Majuta said Chitauro had hired the clearing agent known as Dan to process the documents for him after he fell ill.
“Preliminary investigations reveal that Christopher Chitauro, who is employed by Schaso Solutions in Lubumbashi, arrived in the country on February 13 en route to South Africa. He was carrying a consignment of cobalt and engaged the suspect to facilitate the customs clearance,” Chief Supt Majuta said. “He then fell sick on the following day at around 2PM while waiting for the documents to be processed at the border post.”

Chief Supt Majuta said the clearing agent then rushed Chitauro to Beitbridge District Hospital where he was admitted.
He said later that day Dan visited Chitauro at the hospital around 5PM in the company of two unknown men. “The trio then stole the ignition keys from the complainant and went to the truck shop and drove off. They drove the truck to South Africa after processing all the required customs documents,” said Chief Supt Majuta.

He said the issue came to light when Chitauro asked one of his friends who had visited him at the hospital to collect some money from the truck. The friend realised that the vehicle had vanished the previous night. A report was made to the police who then launched a manhunt for the suspects.

“We sent teams to check on toll gates on both the Masvingo and Bulawayo Highways. Another team went to South Africa where they recovered the truck parked at a truck shop in Musina. The consignment was still intact,” Chief Supt Majuta said. “The suspects fled on learning that the matter was now under investigations.”

He said the trio was still at large and appealed to members of the public to assist the police with information leading to the arrest of the criminals.

The value of the consignment is yet to be ascertained.