Two security guards who were last month paid R3 000 by a smuggler to release from the Beitbridge customs yard, a truck carrying alcohol worth nearly $5 million in import duty, have been jailed for an effective three and half years by a local magistrate.
The police are yet to locate the Hino Profia truck (AFJ 5687) valued at $1,9 million and the alcohol worth about $5 million.
Under the current customs and excise laws, whiskeys and spirits are charged a duty of US$5 per litre, 25 percent excise duty and US$10 per litre based on the absolute alcohol content.
General beer is charged import duty at a rate of 100 percent and an additional excise duty at 25 percent, while wines and related beverages are charged duty at 95 percent and 25 percent excise duty.
Gift Sithole (28) and Fildrate Mutekede (25) both employed by Nokel Security which is contracted by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) to provide security services at Beitbridge were convicted on their own plea of guilty to theft charges when they appeared before Beitbridge resident magistrate Mr Takudzwa Gwazemba on Monday.
The duo was left with an effective 42 months to serve after Mr Gwazemba conditionally suspended six months of their 48-month jail terms for five years.
Prosecuting, Mr Tawanda Chigavazira told the court that on December 30, last year, Zimra officials intercepted a Hino truck carrying an assortment of alcoholic beverages.
The truck and contraband, which were in the name of Rendi Kambambaira, were confiscated under notice of seizures 008580L and 008579L.
On January 10, Sithole and Mutekede, who were on duty at around 11pm at the export bound State warehouse connived with an unknown person to steal the truck along with the seized goods.
The two men were each paid R1 500 and they cut a clamping chain that was securing the Hino truck after which the yet unknown person drove away with the contraband.
The matter was discovered by Zimra’s anti-smuggling team which then informed the two guards’ superiors who searched them and recovered R1 500 from each one of them.
A report was made to police leading to the arrest of Sithole and Mutekede.
However, the contraband and the truck are yet to be recovered.
The theft of goods by border officials or smugglers is rife at Beitbridge Border Post. In 2020, police arrested two Zimra officials deployed at Beitbridge Border Post for causing the clandestine release of goods that had been seized for violation of customs laws.
The state stood to lose over $6,2 million and US$8 000 in import revenue.
Under customs laws, goods seized from offenders are kept in a State warehouse for 90 days before being disposed of through an auction (rummage sale) in the event the owners fail to settle matters with the revenue collector within that period.
In 2016, another customs official was arrested for stealing 84 boxes of export quality cigarettes from a State warehouse.
The contraband had been seized by his employer from a smuggler at the port of entry.