The ManicaPost
Abel Zhakata
Senior Reporter
MORE than 100 000 litres of fuel have been recovered and at least 20 suspects arrested in the last two months as police clampdown on the rampant smuggling of fuel into the country from Mozambique.
The fuel is being channelled to illegal service stations dotted across Manicaland Province.
The confiscated fuel with an estimated street value of US$140 000 has since been handed over to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA), while the suspects were arraigned before the courts.
Of those arrested, some are drivers of fuel tankers who were caught smuggling the contraband into the country via illegal entry points along the porous borderline, while some of the drivers were caught siphoning the product at backyard garages.
Sources revealed that the cunning smugglers have come up with several methods to avoid detection.
Despite working under the cover of darkness, the smugglers drive the fuel tankers across flooded rivers evading paying related taxes at the official entry points like Forbes Border Post in Mutare and Mt Selinda Border Post in Chipinge.
In some instances, the tankers with the smuggled fuel do not cross into the country, but will park near the borderline on the Mozambican side.
The smugglers then use small shuttle trucks loaded with containers to transport the fuel into the country.
Sources said the fact that there are some registered service stations and backyard garages in the province that sell fuel at much lower prices than those set by the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority points out to rampant smuggling.
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission recently revealed that the country is losing millions of dollars through the smuggling of fuel.
Every litre of diesel that is smuggled into the country short changes the fiscus of US$0, 40 as duty, while US$0, 45 is lost for every litre of petrol that gets into the country via the bush.
Officer Commanding Manicaland Police (Operations), Assistant Commissioner Johannes Chinembiri Gowo revealed this week that the police are on top of the situation.
He said an all-out war has been declared against the smuggling of fuel into the country from Mozambique.
“This type of smuggling will end soon and results are coming. We have made several arrests across the province and members of the public must continue giving police tip-offs whenever they suspect criminal activities in their communities,” he said.
Acting Manicaland provincial police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Wiseman Chinyoka said members of the public are playing a crucial role in curbing smuggling activities.
“We have heightened our operations along the border and in-land. Some of the fuel tankers that are smuggling the fuel into the country from Mozambique are being arrested at the borderline. Previously some of these trucks were arrested at check points in the country, but we have taken the war to these culprits and arrests are now being done as soon as they cross into the country. We are scoring these successes because of the information we are receiving from members of the public regarding the operations of these fuel smuggling syndicates,” he said.
In January, police in Chisumbanje impounded an Iveco truck which had been used to smuggle fuel from Mozambique through an illegal entry point in Mabeye.
The truck was loaded with 260 litres of diesel and 140 litres of petrol. Three suspects were arrested.
During the same month in the same area, a Toyota truck with South African number plates was impounded with 1000 litres of diesel and 150 litres of petrol.
Four suspects were arrested over the case.
Investigations done by the police revealed that the petrol had been smuggled from Mozambique through an illegal entry point.
On January 8, police in Chipinge impounded a Man fuel tanker which had 15 000 of diesel that had been smuggled into the country.
Six days later on January 14, detectives in Middle Sabi impounded a Volvo tanker which was travelling along Ngundu Road towards Chiredzi.
It had 20 000 litres of diesel which had been smuggled.
The tanker was referred to ZIMRA for further management.
On February 9, four suspects were arrested in Chisumbanje for smuggling fuel into the country via the Chinyamukwakwa-Chisuma Road.
A total of 1000 litres of diesel and 500 litres of petrol were recovered.
On March 3, five suspects – Tatenda Emmanuel Tsindi (33), John Manyengavan (30), Crispen Suspenzi (17), Gift Chirewa (30) and Kenneth Magaya (29) – were arrested in Rusape for illegally dealing in fuel.
These suspects were found with more than 2 000 litres of fuel they had siphoned from a fuel tanker near Headlands.
“When these suspects were arrested, detectives carried out investigations around the area and found out that there was a Shacman fuel tanker parked nearby which was allegedly supplying fuel to these guys.
‘‘The truck driver was subsequently arrested and it was discovered that he had loaded 18 000 litres of diesel from ZX Fuel Company, but only 3 000 litres were left in the tanker upon his arrest,” said Assistant Inspector Chinyoka.
