THE Musina Magistrates Court has sentenced a truck driver to 15 years behind bars for smuggling explosives.
On Friday, 23 July, Alois Kamwaza was on his way from Zimbabwe to South Africa when he was stopped by the Border Police at the Beitbridge Port of Entry.
Cops subjected the truck to a mandatory search and they made a shocking discovery of the explosives that were hidden inside the tools box at the back of his truck.
“The driver was interviewed, and it was established that the explosives were destined for the Gauteng province. The explosives, 779 units of blasting cartridges and three reels of detonating fuses with the estimated value of R200 000 were seized and he was subsequently arrested,” cops spokesman Captain Matimba Maluleke said.
Kamwaza was in custody until he was sentenced on Friday, 4 November.
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In a separate but similar incident, an undocumented person was also sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for unlawful possession of explosives.
On Wednesday, 27 May, members of the South African National Defence Force saw a suspicious man walking at Beitbridge Port of Entry.
The members approached the man and upon searching his bag, members found 489 units of blasting cartridges with the value of R146 700.
Maluleke said the accused, Wilman Mwando (40), was arrested and he has been in police custody as well until he was convicted and sentenced to 15 years direct imprisonment by the Musina Magistrates Court on 4 November.
Mwando was also found guilty for failing to use the Port of Entry to enter RSA and for entering and remaining in RSA without Legal documentation.
