Zimbabwe’s only gold exporter, Fidelity Printers and Refineries, the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) and security agents stationed at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport are being investigated over a scheme by Henrietta Rushwaya to smuggle 6kgs of gold to Dubai on October 26.
A number of people including businessman Ali Muhamad, two State security agents and two top policemen have since been arrested over the matter.
Detective Chief Inspector Michael Chibaya told the court this Tuesday that they want to establish how Rushwaya and her accomplices got the 99.99 percent purified gold, which can only be obtained from Fidelity Printers and Refiners in the country.
He added that CAAZ was involved after it emerged that CCTV at the airport was switched off during the attempt to smuggle out the 6kg of gold to Dubai. Chibaya said:
Investigations are still underway and more arrests are to be made.
The gold which was recovered had a purity of 99 percent and can be done by a reputable refinery and in Zimbabwe, it is Fidelity Printers.
When Rushwaya was arrested, amongst the documents she produced was a gold dealing agent permit issued to Ali Japan 786 Limited where Ali is one of the directors. Investigations are called to determine whether there is a relationship between Rushwaya, Ali Japan and the gold recovered.
At the RGM Airport, the responsible authorities manning the CCTV are indicating that there was no ZESA between 10am and 2pm.
He added that investigations indicated that there was a power for between 10 to 20 minutes during which the digital CCTV was allegedly tampered with.
The state believes that Steven Tserayi and Raphious Mufandauya could have influenced CAAZofficers to switch off the CCTV to conceal the crime.
More: The Herald