Third Strand Transport driver arrested over US$10,000 beverage smuggling scheme

A driver employed by Third Strand Transport has been arrested in Mutare after police allegedly discovered beer and soft drinks concealed inside a consignment of Calcium Nitrate transported from Beira, Mozambique.

Police allege that Ishmael Muwende, 25, used the company’s 30-tonne haulage truck to carry the undeclared beverages into Zimbabwe without paying the required duty. The goods, valued at approximately US$10,000, were allegedly not declared either at Forbes Border Post or at the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority’s Goods Management System branch in Mutare.

Acting Manicaland police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Wiseman Chinyoka confirmed Muwende’s arrest, saying officers had received information on August 12 that beverages were being loaded into a Calcium Nitrate consignment in Beira for suspected smuggling into Zimbabwe.

Police subsequently monitored the truck, identified by horse registration number ADS 4393 and trailer registration number AND 1107, as it crossed
Forbes Border Post in the early hours of August 16. The vehicle later proceeded to ZIMRA’s GMS facility in Mutare for clearance.

According to Chinyoka, officers followed the truck and intercepted it along Park Road shortly after it had left the GMS facility and was travelling towards Mutare’s central business district.

“The accused person admitted to having smuggled some beverages which were concealed inside a consignment of Calcium Nitrate which had been duly declared,” Chinyoka said.

A physical examination of the truck was conducted at the ZIMRA GMS yard, where officers allegedly recovered 756 cases of Coca-Cola soft drinks, 120 cases of Savanna Cider, 30 boxes of Corona Cider and 38 cases of Flying Cider.

The truck and the recovered beverages were handed over to ZIMRA pending seizure proceedings. Authorities said the owner of the goods had not yet been established.

The case places renewed attention on the compliance responsibilities of haulage companies transporting cargo across regional borders. However, the information released by police does not indicate that Third Strand Transport itself has been charged or that the company’s management was aware of the alleged concealment.

The allegations remain subject to due process, and Muwende is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.