News / Regional
Two men arrested for attempting to smuggle 1 000 cigarette boxes
22 Feb 2013 at 23:01hrs | Views
DETECTIVES from the police's Border Control Unit have intercepted a South African registered truck with a contraband of 1 000 boxes of export quality cigarettes worth $190 000 that were being smuggled into that country through Beitbridge border post enroute to Angola.
Two men, a South African and Zambian, have been arrested in connection with the matter.
Mbangweta Siyinda (Zambian) was driving the truck and travelling with Christiaan Johannes Schoonbee (South African).
It is understood that the contraband was being transported to Angola by Fodya (Pvt) Ltd, Plymouth Road in Harare.
Investigations by our sister paper the Herald revealed that on 15 February, the Volvo truck Registration Numbers CN6006, black and white in colour and towing a trailer with registration numbers CN24286 was loaded with a consignment of flowers and 1 000 boxes of cigarettes in Harare before leaving for Beitbridge.
Siyinda and Schoonbee are reported to have connived to smuggle the contraband into South Africa before taking it to its final destination in Angola.
The smuggling of cigarettes has been on the increase especially to countries that are outside Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) because they are levied high amounts on excise duty compared to the union members, which are Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.
The two suspects are alleged to have driven to Beitbridge Border Post where they arrived at about 4am on Saturday morning. They then went about all the immigration and customs formalities whereupon they only declared the consignment of flowers.
Siyinda and Schoonbee ran out of luck when detectives from the Border Control Unit, who were acting on a tip off, intercepted them.
The police officers then alerted some officials, who were manning the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) scanning machines.
The truck was then taken for examination where it emerged that the scan pictures showed two consignments varying in density prompting the Zimra officials to take the truck to the Container Depot for physical examinations.
A total of 138 packages of flowers, 800 boxes of Mega and 200 boxes of Falcon cigarettes were discovered packed in the trailer.
Further investigations by the detectives also revealed that both cigarette products had been cleared in Harare on bill of entries R60 and R61 on 11 February. The contraband had been consigned to Pascolla Envestemendo, Estrada de Nationale and Lubango, Angola.
The manifest, which showed only a consignment of flowers, was also recovered from the duo.
The duo was subsequently arrested and Zimra seized both the truck and the bootleg.
The Police Officer Commanding Beitbridge District Chief Supt Lawrence Chinhengo said further investigations into the matter were under way.
He said they had charged Siyinda and Schoonbee with smuggling and that they would soon appear in court.
"We are still investigating the matter and the two suspects will soon appear in court," he said.
Two men, a South African and Zambian, have been arrested in connection with the matter.
Mbangweta Siyinda (Zambian) was driving the truck and travelling with Christiaan Johannes Schoonbee (South African).
It is understood that the contraband was being transported to Angola by Fodya (Pvt) Ltd, Plymouth Road in Harare.
Investigations by our sister paper the Herald revealed that on 15 February, the Volvo truck Registration Numbers CN6006, black and white in colour and towing a trailer with registration numbers CN24286 was loaded with a consignment of flowers and 1 000 boxes of cigarettes in Harare before leaving for Beitbridge.
Siyinda and Schoonbee are reported to have connived to smuggle the contraband into South Africa before taking it to its final destination in Angola.
The smuggling of cigarettes has been on the increase especially to countries that are outside Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) because they are levied high amounts on excise duty compared to the union members, which are Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.
The two suspects are alleged to have driven to Beitbridge Border Post where they arrived at about 4am on Saturday morning. They then went about all the immigration and customs formalities whereupon they only declared the consignment of flowers.
Siyinda and Schoonbee ran out of luck when detectives from the Border Control Unit, who were acting on a tip off, intercepted them.
The truck was then taken for examination where it emerged that the scan pictures showed two consignments varying in density prompting the Zimra officials to take the truck to the Container Depot for physical examinations.
A total of 138 packages of flowers, 800 boxes of Mega and 200 boxes of Falcon cigarettes were discovered packed in the trailer.
Further investigations by the detectives also revealed that both cigarette products had been cleared in Harare on bill of entries R60 and R61 on 11 February. The contraband had been consigned to Pascolla Envestemendo, Estrada de Nationale and Lubango, Angola.
The manifest, which showed only a consignment of flowers, was also recovered from the duo.
The duo was subsequently arrested and Zimra seized both the truck and the bootleg.
The Police Officer Commanding Beitbridge District Chief Supt Lawrence Chinhengo said further investigations into the matter were under way.
He said they had charged Siyinda and Schoonbee with smuggling and that they would soon appear in court.
"We are still investigating the matter and the two suspects will soon appear in court," he said.
Source - TC
