The Zambia Revenue Authority, ZRA, has seized a 2015 Range Rover Sport worth approximately 1.4 million Kwacha, after a failed attempt to smuggle the vehicle into the country.
The seizure which happened at Chirundu Border on 29th, August 2016, is in pursuant to Section 149 of the Customs and Excise Act No. 322 of the Laws of Zambia.
This happened after alert paramilitary officers attached to ZRA stopped the vehicle when it approached the entry gate at the Passengers Terminal, resulting into the driver and one passenger in the vehicle escaping in unexplained circumstances immediately after they were directed to park the vehicle at the parking slot.
This is according to a statement availed to Breeze News this morning by ZRA Corporate Communications Manager, Oliver Nzala.
He says in an attempt to deceive officers at the gate, the vehicle had a Zambian registration number ALV 1012 with discs displayed on the windscreen of a Toyota Hilux.
A thorough check of the vehicle revealed that the actual color of the vehicle was silver and not black and the vehicle was plastic coated in order to deceive officers and this was only revealed when officers partially peeled off the black plastic.
And in his letter of appeal to ZRA, the owner of the vehicle Mwapu Musonda, claimed that he entered into an agreement with his South African supplier to transport and deliver the vehicle to Chirundu then, inform him upon arrival so that he could arrange customs clearance at the border, but to his surprise he was informed that his vehicle was detained at Chirundu by ZRA.
He further claimed that the dishonest act was done by people he did not know and wondered what intentions the people had with his vehicle.
Mr. Nzala says ZRA has intensified patrols and vigilance in order to clamp down smuggling and warned taxpayers against smuggling.