adminThupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Reporter
A 44-YEAR-OLD Harare man has been jailed for one month for smuggling 30 tonnes of scrap metal into South Africa through Beitbridge border post.Tichasiyana Maboreke of 41 Scripps Street in Borrowdale was convicted on his own plea of guilty to a charge of smuggling by Beitbridge resident magistrate Gloria Takundwa.
The scrap metal was forfeited to the State.
Prosecutor, Jabulani Mberesi told the court that sometime in June, Maboreke acquired scrap metal in Harare with an intention to resell it in South Africa. However, he did not seek authority from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development to deal or trade in scrap metal.
On June 12, Maboreke allegedly hired a truck from Millennium Transport Company in Harare to transport the scrap metal to South Africa.
The contraband was then taken to Beitbridge border post four days later, enroute to South Africa.
A clearing agent Tapiwa Chapeyama, who is still at large, was roped in to facilitate the smuggling.
The prosecutor said Maboreke went through all the immigration formalities, but was intercepted by an alert Zimra officer when he was about to leave for South Africa.
He was asked to produce export documents but failed resulting in his arrest.
Chapeyama fled after learning that his accomplice had been arrested.
Zimra seized the 30 tonnes of scrap metal and it was forfeited to the State.
derick.khumalo