The Sunday News
Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
THE four omalayitsha from Bulawayo who were arrested at the Beitbridge Border Post on Thursday morning for trying to smuggle bullets worth R42 855 from South Africa were yesterday dragged to court charged with smuggling and illegal possession of ammunition.
It is suspected the ammunition belonged to a Mr Clive Connelly of Tongogara Street in Bulawayo.
Njabulo Nxumalo (31) of Mpopoma, Nkosana Bhekinkosi Makuyana (30), Mthabisi Ncube (23) and Francis Ncube (32) all of Pumula in Bulawayo were arrested by the Ferret Squad while travelling in a South African registered (CF52LRGP) Toyota Quantum as they were about to leave the border post.
The squad is made up of Department of Immigration, the police, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, Ministry of Transport and other security agents manning the border.
The four were not asked to plead to the charges when they appeared before Beitbridge magistrate Mr Innocent Bepura who remanded them in custody to 5 July in the interim.
Charges as read by Mr Lloyd Mupfungidza for the State were that on 23 June the four arrived in the country from South Africa through Beitbridge Border Post using the Toyota Quantum (SA Reg CF52LRGP).
The vehicle which was being driven by Nxumalo towing a trailer (registration FH05PYGP) was loaded with an assortment of goods.
While at the border post, they went through immigration formalities and later declared to Zimra that they were carrying bicycles spares.
They managed to hoodwink the Zimra officials who let them pass the red route search bay.
They ran out of luck when alert security officials stopped them as they made their way out of the border post area.
A search of the vehicle was then conducted leading to the discovery of several boxes of an assortment of bullet cartridges weighing 130 kilogrammes which were concealed under other goods.
The contraband had a cumulative value of R42 855 and the State stood to lose $1 437,74 in revenue.
The gang was subsequently arrested.
The smuggling of firearms from South Africa into the country has of late become rampant.
Recently a 48-year-old businessman from Ruwa was fined $2 000 for smuggling 2 417 bullets from South Africa into the country through Beitbridge border post.
Bensen Zindere of 6543 Zimre Park in Ruwa who is the owner of Nechit Enterprises was intercepted by an alert police detective while about to leave the border area carrying his stuff in a small satchel.
He was carrying an assortment of ammunition (bullets) in a small satchel.
A few months after, a retired army captain, Godfrey Mutasa of Harare was also fined $800 by a Beitbridge magistrate for smuggling an ammunition progressive loading machine worth R30 0000 which reloads bullets with gun powder.
Mutasa who was intercepted while driving a Mazda BT50 single cab had declared to Zimra that he was importing vehicles spare parts worth R1 200.
