Officials at RGM International Airport assisting criminals to smuggle precious minerals- says ZRP boss Godwin Matanga

Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Commissioner-General, Godwin Matanga says Zimbabwe’s borders are too “porous” to effectively monitor.

According to the a report by the NewsHawks, Matanga says, although there are scanners at Robert Mugabe International Airport, “airport officials” are conniving with criminals to smuggle precious minerals.

Matanga also revealed that the 23 pieces of gold recently smuggled to South Africa by Zimbabwean Tashinga Masinire totalled 14 kilogrammes.

Apparently, Zimbabwean police only got to know about the smuggling incident through communication from Interpol. Masinire was assisted by a CIO operative.

Meanwhile, last year, Henrietta Rushwaya was arrested by the Military Intelligence Department at the same airport trying to smuggle 6kgs of gold worth US$366 000 to Dubai, it was reported that CIOs switched off scanners to facilitate her easy passage.

Rushwaya, later implicated President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s family saying they were the real owners of the gold on whose behalf she was going to sell.

The government issued statements distancing the first family from Rushwaya, saying Mnangagwa’s family had nothing to do with the matter whatsoever.

On the family’s behalf, Ministry of Information Permanent Secretary Nick Mangwana said following the arrests, the government has been made aware of individual groups and one of the suspects in the case, abusing the first family’s name in their illegal activities.

“His Excellency, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has demonstrated his zero tolerance stance on corruption and organised crime.

“On her part, the first lady, Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa, has distanced herself and family from any of the suspects in the gold smuggling case,” said Mangwana in a press statement.

-Zwnews