The ManicaPost
Liberty Dube
Post Correspondent
A DARING truck driver reportedly stole 45 000 litres of petrol valued at US$20 000 before refilling the tanker with water.
Tafadzwa Chiwenga, who intended to drive the truck to Zambia, ran out of luck at Chirundu Border Post after alert Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) officials randomly conducted a physical examination on the truck and established that the tanker was carrying water instead of petrol.
He was found guilty when he recently appeared before Mutare provincial magistrate, Mr Langton Mukwengi facing theft of property as defined in Section 113 (2) (D) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23.
He was convicted on his own guilty plea and fined $25 000.
Mr Chris Munyuku prosecuted.
The court heard that Chiwenga — who is employed by Five Stars Transport in Mutare as a truck driver — was on July 12 assigned to collect a load of petrol from Beira, Mozambique.
He loaded 45 800l of petrol on the pretext that the consignment was destined for Lusaka, Zambia.
On an unknown date, but during the period extending from July 12 to July 18, Chiwenga siphoned $45 000 litres of petrol and refilled the tanker with water.
On July 18, at around 6am, Chiwenga arrived at Chirundu Border Post and his truck was randomly picked for physical examination by ZIMRA officials. It was established that the tanker contained water instead of petrol.
Chiwenga fled the scene following the discovery of the offence.
He was later arrested and investigations carried out revealed that Chiwenga stole the petrol and sold it in Mozambique.
Meanwhile, police in Headlands had to shoot the tyres of two vehicles smuggling 362 bales of second-hand clothes that had bulldozed their way through a police barricade.
The third vehicle, an Isuzu truck which was escorting the two vehicles was impounded by the police.
Drama started when police stopped the vehicles. The occupants offered the police officers an undisclosed sum of money as bribe, but this was turned down.
Stung by the police’s unwavering stance, the drivers of the vehicles forced their way through the barricade.
The smugglers ignored warning shots, prompting the law enforcement agents to open fire on the vehicles.
Manicaland provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Luxson Chananda said two of the vehicles’ tyres were deflated in the process, but the smugglers continued driving the vehicles.
The Caravan kombi managed to escape.
The vehicles and the smuggled bales were later recovered in Anoldine Village the following day after the owners abandoned them and took to their heels.
“On August 3, police in Headlands received a tip-off that a truck and a kombi being escorted by an Isuzu truck were carrying suspected smuggled goods.
“Police reacted to the information and set up a barricade at the 136km peg along Mutare-Harare Road. The Isuzu pick-up truck arrived at the barricade with the Caravan behind. The driver of the Isuzu truck approached the police officers and offered them an undisclosed amount of money as bribe to pass through the barricade.
“The other truck had also arrived and when its driver realised that the police officers were unyielding, he drove through the barricade. The other vehicles followed and police fired warning shots. They shot the truck’s rear tyre, but the driver did not stop,” said Inspector Chananda.
He said the Isuzu truck tried to make a U-turn and police also opened fire on the truck.
“The rear tyre of the Isuzu truck was deflated, but the driver did not stop. “Police made a follow-up of the Isuzu truck and saw it parked at Reeb Business Centre in Headlands where the occupants were mending the tyre. Upon seeing the police officers, they ran away leaving the car behind.
“The following day, police got a tip-off from Anoldine villagers that there were bales of second-hands clothes being offloaded from a truck that was stuck in the mud at Mwarazi Bridge along the Anoldine-Chinyudze Road. Police attended the scene and found about 20 males offloading the bales into a DAF truck.
“When the people who were loading the truck saw the police approaching, they fled. Searches were conducted around the area and some bales were discovered hidden in a nearby bush covered with tree branches.
“The 362 bales together with the two trucks were seized by ZIMRA officials. So far no arrests have been made,” he said.
Inspector Chananda said checks made at the Central Vehicle Registry established that the Isuzu and other truck belong to a Wisper Musongeya of Warren Park D, Harare.
He said the DAF truck belongs to Agribank, Zimbabwe.
Inspector Chananda said investigations are in progress.
