A 33-year-old Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) official deployed to a State warehouse in Beitbridge has been arrested for conniving with a suspected smuggler to steal 84 boxes of cigarettes placed in his custody. Brian Shereni, of 176 Eland Road in the border town, is accused of stealing cigarettes valued at $25 620. Through his lawyer, Mr Reason Mutimba of Nyikadzino Legal Practice, Shereni denied a charge of theft when he appeared before Beitbridge resident magistrate Ms Gloria Takundwa.
He was remanded to September 8 on $200 bail pending trial. The State, led by Mr Lloyd Mupfungidza, alleges that Shereni connived with one Susan Haruperi to steal tobacco from the warehouse between April 15 and April 21 this year.
She said on February 3 this year Zimra officials intercepted Haruperi and others along the Beitbridge-Masvingo Road, who were suspected to be in illegal possession of 84 boxes of Chelsea and 24 boxes of Express Royal cigarettes respectively.
The contraband was taken to the Eastern State warehouse in the border town for storage. All the boxes were recorded in the seizure books. The court heard that Haruperi, who fled the scene when the suspects were intercepted, was later arrested and taken to court on charges of illegal possession of export quality cigarettes.
She was acquitted of the charges and an order was granted for Zimra to give her back the seized cigarettes. Mr Mupfungidza said Haruperi then approached Shereni who was in custody of the cigarettes on April 15 and they hatched a plan to steal the contraband.
He said on the same day, the woman collected the cigarettes which were loaded into a Hyundai truck (registration number ADA 0979) driven by one Moses Muzhambi. The release of the loot was recorded by a security guard manning the area, but Shereni did not record in the acquittals book as per pro- cedure.
The prosecutor said on April 21, Haruperi hired two kombis and went to Zimra armed with a court order to collect her cigarettes. She was supposed to collect only eight boxes, having taken 100 earlier on.
But Shereni and the woman loaded 92 boxes in the two boxes, and again did not record them in the acquittal book. Cigarettes valued at $25 620 were not recovered.
