A BEITBRIDGE clearing agent has been sentenced to 18 months in prison following his conviction on charges of fraud and smuggling related offences.
The suspect, Brian Zimbume, was employed by Andalusia Investments trading as ZimBorders.
Zimbume was convicted on two counts of fraud for allegedly deceiving Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) officials into giving him access to their scanning machines under false pretences.
Allegations are that the suspect claimed he needed to fix system or network issues.
The court heard that Zimbume instead used the devices to illegally approve the release of three Scania trucks carrying a total of 96 tonnes of chrome concentrate into South Africa without proper clearance.
Alternatively, he faced charges under the Customs and Excise Act for smuggling the chrome shipments, potentially prejudicing Zimra of potential revenues in duties and other taxes.
