The ManicaPost
Tendai Gukutikwa Court Correspondent
SMUGGLING offences are rife in the eastern border city and hence the need for deterrent sentences to scare away would be offenders, a Mutare magistrate has said.
Mr Innocent Bepura said this as he sentenced a Mutare man, James Gwaringwa who had been nabbed smuggling bales of second-hand clothing into the country through an illegal port of entry last week.
“Offences of this nature are now the order of the day in Mutare and therefore the need for stiffer penalties. This will help in sending a message to would-be offenders that the law is working tirelessly in brining smugglers to book and punishing them accordingly,” said Mr Bepura.
Gwaringwa was slapped with a six-month jail term which was, however, suspended on condition that he pays $950 fine.
In an unrelated incident, a Gokwe woman was fined $300 after she was caught in possession of goods that were prohibited from importation.
Sarudzai Muyambi (31) pleaded guilty to contravening Section 47 of the Customs and Excise Act, Chapter 23: 23.
Muyambi of Mudhodho Village, Chief Jiri in Gokwe had initially been slapped with a 90-day jail term, which was wholly suspended on condition that she pays $300 fine.
The Gokwe woman who had boarded a bus enroute to Bulawayo was stopped at a stop and search roadblock at Christmas Pass.
At least 1 000 bottles of soldier whisky worth $1 000 were recovered from Muyambi’s luggage and she was arrested.
The soldier whisky was forfeited to the State.
