HARARE – A smuggler arrested at the OR Tambo International Airport in South Africa with 23 gold pieces worth R11 million received assistance from a Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) agent to circumvent security at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare, a court heard on Friday.
CIO agent Chamakandiwona Nyahunda, alias Vincent Moyo, was remanded in custody to Monday for bail proceedings after being charged with contravening the Customs and Excise Act and criminal abuse of office.
Nyahunda’s arrest came after South Africa’s elite police outfit, the Hawks, arrested 33-year-old Tashinga Masinire at the main airport in Johannesburg on May 8.
Masinire was stopped by customs officers for a routine scan which revealed gold pieces inside a Red Label whisky box which was inside a bag he was carrying.
Authorities in Harare began investigating how the gold worth US$784,000 left the country.
A court heard on Friday that a review of CCTV footage showed that Nyahunda, who worked at the airport, arrived early on May 8 and entered the airport through the domestic arrivals terminal before making his way to international departures – avoiding the security scanners.
Masinire, whose flight was set to depart at 1PM, checked in normally and went through the airport scanners.
Once in the departure lounge area, Masinire was seen entering a smoking room with his bag, before Nyahunda followed inside. Prosecutors believe it is here that Nyahunda transferred the gold which he carried in the pockets of his jacket into Masinire’s bag.
Gold smuggling is rife at Zimbabwe’s ports of exit, fuelled by uncompetitive gold prices fixed by the state-owned Fidelity Printers. Fidelity buys a kilogramme of the mineral at an average price of US$44,000, but this can go up to US$60,000 if the gold is sold in South Africa or Dubai.
