Former Zimbabwe Football Association chief executive officer Henrietta Rushwaya was this afternoon arrested at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare on allegations of trying to smuggle 6kg of gold to Dubai.
Rushwaya (53), was arrested by Criminal Investigation Department (CID) detectives after the gold was found in her hand luggage following a search as she was going through check-in formalities.
The gold was detected by Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe scanners and Rushwaya, who is the president of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation, failed to produce documents authorising her to export the precious mineral, leading to her arrest.
Asked about the origins of the gold, Rushwaya is said to have claimed that she got it from a person she only identified as Ali, who resides in Alexandra Park in Harare.
She told detectives that Ali was a licenced gold buyer and had instructed her to hand over the gold to an unidentified person at Dubai Airport.
Police said the recovered gold would be taken for assay to determine quantity and value after which it would be sent to Fidelity Printers and Refiners for safekeeping.
Rushwaya is expected to appear in court tomorrow.
-Herald