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SMUGGLING 28 bales of secondhand clothes into the country from Mozambique earned a 38-year-old Hobhouse man $100 fine last week. Tawanda Chirango was convicted on his own guilty plea when he appeared before Mutare magistrate, Ms Nyasha Kuture. It was the State’s case led by prosecutor, Mr Douglas Mutiure that on August 27 at Penhalonga Turnoff, Chirango was found in possession of 28 bales of secondhand clothes loaded in his Toyota car by police officers manning a roadblock.
“The police officers who were on duty at Christmas Pass roadblock stopped his car and searched it. They discovered 28 bales of secondhand clothes without any declaration forms.
“He failed to give a convincing explanation leading to his immediate arrest,” said Mr Mutiure. Asked on why he had committed the offence, Chirango pleaded guilty and asked for leniency. “I admit that I was found in possession of 28 bales of secondhand clothes. It was a way of irking out a living, Your Worship,” pleaded Chirango.
However, Ms Kuture advised him to look for other legal means of earning a living because smuggling was illegal and ordered him to pay $100 fine. Ms Kuture said: “You should find legal means to earn a living rather than resorting to illegal means. It is a serious offence, therefore I urge you to desist from smuggling, but rather use proper procedures.”
Online Reporter