Trucker nabbed for smuggling

A truck driver’s bid to smuggle 770 kilogrammes of potatoes into Zimbabwe fell flat when he was arrested at the Beit Bridge Border Post.

Tinashe Chigubu (38), of Mbizo village and employed by as a driver, was convicted on his own plea of guilty when he appeared before Magistrate Innocent Bepura at Beit Bridge on Friday. He was sentenced to a fine of US$300 or three months in prison, while the potatoes were forfeited to the state.

The court was told that, on Tuesday last week, Chigubhu arrived in the country from South Africa through Beit Bridge Border Post, driving a haulage truck en route to Kwekwe. The truck was carrying a consignment of potatoes whose importation into the country is banned.

While at the border post, Chigubu went through the immigration and customs formalities without declaring his loot. He then left the border post but ran out of luck when he was intercepted by detectives, acting on a tip-off as he was leaving the border.

A search of the truck was then conducted, leading to the discovery of 770 kg of potatoes worth R23 000.

He was asked to produce documents authorising him to import the consignment but failed, leading to his arrest.

Date:22 November 2013

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.

Read: 419