Bail for three suspected gold smugglers

Three Zimbabwean men, who were arrested last year for attempting to smuggle 7kg of gold into South Africa through the Beit Bridge border post, appeared in court.

Simbarashe Kangara (30) and Munyaradzi Tatenda (28) appeared before Magistrate Innocent Bepura, facing charges of smuggling and possession of illegal gold. The case was postponed to 3 February and the two were released on bail of US$400 each.

The court heard that the two men were intercepted on 23 August while transporting 7kg of gold hidden in their car, a Toyota Harrier, destined for Johannesburg. The court was told that at around 06:00 that morning, the pair arrived at the border and went through the immigration and customs formalities without declaring the gold. They were intercepted by detectives from the Border Control Unit as they were about to leave the border at the exit gate.

The vehicle was searched, leading to the discovery of eight bars of gold. As they failed to produce legal documents, they were arrested.

Date:23 January 2015

By: Mashudu Netsianda

Mashudu Netsianda is our correspondent in Beit Bridge, Zimbabwe. He joined us in 2006, writing both local and international stories. He had worked for several Zimbabwean publications, as well as the Times of Swaziland. Mashudu received his training at the School of Mass Communication in Harare.

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