By Business Reporter – Monday 26 October 2020
HARARE (Mining Index) – ZIMBABWE Miners Federation (ZMF) president Henrietta Rushwaya was today arrested for attempting to smuggle at least 6 kilograms of gold to Dubai through the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR) buys gold at about US$54 per gram of fine gold. The 6 kgs of gold is worth approximately US$324 000.
In September this year, ZMF was granted a gold buying license to buy gold on behalf of Fidelity.
A police memo seen by Mining Index reveals the Rushwaya was arrested for failure to produce mineral export documents for the bullion and is being charged for smuggling under the Customs and Excise Act.
“The detectives identified the accused as she commenced check in processes and immigration formalities. The detectives immediately alerted the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) scanner operators to thoroughly examine the accused’s bag,”
“Gold was detected by the scanner in the accused’s bag which formed part of her hand luggage. The bag was searched in the presence of the accused by CID MFFU detectives whilst other stakeholders at the airport witnessed the search,”
“A total of approximately 6kg of gold whose value is yet to be determined was recovered stashed in the accused’s personal luggage in her bag. The accused was questioned about the origin of the gold and she indicated that she obtained it from one Ali of number 32 Lanark Road, Alexandra Park, Harare,”
“She indicated that Ali is a licensed gold buyer using the name Ali Japan 786 Private Limited. She alleged that she had been instructed by Ali to leave the gold to an unidentified person at Dubai International Airport,”
“The accused was asked to supply export documents in respect of the gold and she failed leading to her arrest,”
“The recovered gold will be take for assay to determine quantity and value. It will be lodged at Fidelity Printers and Refiners for safekeeping,” said the memo.
She is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow.
Earlier this month, ZMF signed three mining deals with CMED, CBZ and AliJapan in a move to promote artisanal and small-scale gold miners (ASGM) in Zimbabwe.
