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Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
POLICE have intercepted three Harare men at Beitbridge border post who were trying to smuggle 7kgs of gold worth $270,000 to South Africa.
Simbarashe Kangara, of Warren Park 1 and Osten Chitate, of Chisipite in Harare as well as Munyaradzi Tatenda Goteka, a resident of Bindura were arrested at Beitbridge border post while travelling in a Toyota Harrier.
It is understood that the trio had stashed the 7.269kgs of gold in a wiper compartment of the vehicle which they had modified.

The suspects are said to have intended to hand over both the gold and the vehicle to an unidentified dealer in South Africa.
The three appeared before magistrate Innocent Bepura for bail application yesterday and the ruling is expected to be delivered today.

Through their lawyers, Graciano Manyurureni of Manyurureni and Co Legal Practitioners and Albert Nyamupfukudza of Nyamupfukudza and Partners Legal Practitioners, the trio denied the charges arguing that they were not aware that the Toyota Harrier had gold.

They argued that they had been authorised to travel in the same vehicle by Kudzanai Kangara who is on the run.
The suspects’ bail application was opposed on grounds that they had given investigators false residential addresses and that the vehicle was registered in the name of Carlson Mpofu not Kudzanai Kangara as alleged.

Prosecutor Foster Abheki said there was a likelihood that the suspects would abscond and also interfere with state witnesses since Chitate lived at the same house with Kudzanai who is on the run.

Abheki told the court that on August 23, at around 6AM, the trio arrived at Beitbridge border post in a Toyota Harrier registration number ADJ3594 which was being driven by Simbarashe.

He said they then went through all the immigration and customs formalities without declaring the gold.
The court further heard that the accused persons were then intercepted by detectives from the Border Control Unit who were acting on a tip off.

The vehicle was in turn searched before they were told to drive to the main police station where further searches led to the discovery of eight smelted bars of gold bullions weighing 7.269kgs which had been stashed in a wiper compartment modified specifically for that purpose.

The gold worth $268,953, the trio’s passports, vehicle documents and the vehicle they were travelling in were seized by the police.
The incident comes a few months after police foiled another gold smuggling attempt involving Richard Anthony Devlin, 29, who is a holder of a British passport and resides in Borrowdale and Mark Patrick Greenhalgh, 34, of Highlands in Harare.

Detectives recovered 5kg of gold worth $212,085.92 that were hidden in the panel of the truck pan.
The duo was later cleared of any wrong doing by Beitbridge resident magistrate Gloria Takundwa who ruled that the state had failed to prove that they had been in physical possession of the gold.