Sukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
A KADOMA-based mine worker who was arrested while trying to smuggle 6,2 kilogrammes of gold valued at $241,282 into Botswana through the Plumtree Border Post has implicated his boss. Alan Courtney Rory, 21, Big Boom Mine manager and his boss, Michael Brian Stone, 44, who is the owner of the mine yesterday appeared before Plumtree magistrate, Gideon Ruvetsa facing charges of possessing gold without a licence and attempting to smuggle it.
The two men pleaded not guilty to both charges through their legal counsel Victor Zvobgo of Mauwa and Associates Legal Practitioners. Rory and Stone allegedly connived to smuggle the gold into Botswana. Rory was intercepted at the border post while in possession of the gold which was hidden in his vehicle.
Following his arrest, he told the police that the gold belonged to his employer, Stone. Zvobgo told the court that his client Rory had no knowledge that there was gold in the vehicle that he was driving. “My client is employed as a mine manager and he has a valid agency permit to prove this. He didn’t have knowledge of the existence of gold. At his workplace registered workers are allowed to load gold into the company vehicle and report to him,” he said.
“In this case my client took the vehicle before the workers had notified him of the existence of the gold. His travel intentions were not in any way linked to the smuggling of gold.”
Zvobgo said on the day before his client’s arrest, his workmate had used the car with the intention of sending the gold to Fidelity Printers the following day. He said his client took the vehicle without the knowledge that it had gold which was supposed to be delivered to Fidelity Printers. He said Stone who is the director of the mining company, was not aware that Rory had used the vehicle which had gold.
The pair was remanded out of custody to November 2 for continuation of trial. Prosecuting, Stanley Chinyanganya said police detectives intercepted Rory at the Plumtree Border Post on May 19 and recovered two gold bars. He said they conducted the search after receiving a tip off that Rory who was travelling under the pretence of shopping in Francistown was actually smuggling gold into the neighbouring country.
He said Rory arrived in a Toyota Hilux vehicle and went through all Zimra and immigration formalities. He was later intercepted by police detectives from the minerals and border control unit while at the Plumtree Border exit gate. “During their search police detectives recovered a size 12 spanner at the back of the driver’s seat. They used the spanner to open the windscreen wiper compartment where they recovered two bars of smelted gold wrapped using brown sellotape,” said Chinyanganya.
He said Rory was asked to produce a gold licence or permit to possess gold, but failed to so, leading to his immediate arrest. He said Rory then implicated his boss Stone as the owner of the gold.
He said the gold had a total weight of 6,2 kilogrammes and was valued at $241,281.
The country is estimated to be losing millions in gold leakages on a monthly basis as smugglers are taking the yellow mineral across borders in search of higher prices.