Harare man busted smuggling groceries worth US$20,...

Harare man busted smuggling groceries worth US$20,000 through Zambia

Patience Muchemwa

A 37-year-old Harare resident, George Mutingondo, has been convicted of smuggling groceries valued at nearly US$20,000 through Zambia in an attempt to evade customs duties. Mutingondo appeared before Karoi Magistrates' Court charged with contravening the Customs and Excise Act.

According to court documents, on April 30, 2024, Mutingondo, driving a truck laden with groceries, declared to officials at the Plumtree Border Post that he was merely transiting Zimbabwe en route to Zambia via the Chirundu Border Post. He proceeded to Zambia as planned, completing customs clearance there.

However, Mutingondo raised suspicion upon returning to Zimbabwe on May 12th with the truck still carrying the same cargo. He falsely claimed the truck contained 34 tonnes of duty-free biscuits. A tip-off led to his arrest by Zimbabwean police in Karoi.

Authorities then escorted the truck back to Chirundu Border Post for a thorough inspection by ZIMRA (Zimbabwe Revenue Authority) officials. The inspection uncovered a significant amount of undeclared groceries, including:

2,015 cases of Nivea body cream (12x 400ml each),499 boxes of Ellis Brown creamer (12x 750g each),499 boxes of Stumbo (16x 48 pieces each),499 boxes of fruit juice (12x 1 liter each),300 boxes of Maq washing powder (2kg each),300 boxes of Cremora (20x 750g each)

Mutingondo pleaded guilty to the smuggling charges and was sentenced to 280 hours of community service.