Source: Businessman arrested at RG Mugabe International Airport for smuggling US$78 000 – herald
Yeukai Karengezeka-Chisepo
Court Correspondent
A HARARE businessman was arrested at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport while attempting to board a flight to Tanzania after being found in possession of undeclared foreign currency amounting to US$80 000.
Victor Magigwana (32) appeared before Harare regional magistrate Mrs Jesse Kufa, facing charges of unlawful exportation of foreign currency, in violation of the Exchange Control Act.
He was granted US$300 bail.
Prosecutor Mr Rufaro Chonzi told the court that on March 14, 2026, detectives from the CID Commercial Crime Division (CCD) in Harare received a tip-off from a reliable source that Magigwana was planning to smuggle cash out of the country via Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
Acting on the tip-off, detectives alerted airport security personnel and police officers on duty.
Magigwana was closely monitored from the airport’s entry point to the boarding area.
As he was about to board a Tanzania Airways flight, airport security intercepted Magigwana and conducted a thorough search of his belongings.
They discovered US$80 000 in his handbag, for which he had no authorisation documents from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ).
The accused was handed over to ZIMRA officials, who seized US$78 000 of the cash under a combined receipt and notice of seizure for currency, returning US$2 000 to Magigwana as per legal allowances for travel.
The total value of the recovered foreign currency is US$78 000.
COMMENTS