The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI/Hawks) in Limpopo has welcomed the 15-year prison sentence handed to explosives smuggler, Alois Kamwaza.

The Musina Magistrate’s Court handed Kamwaza the sentence on Friday.

Said Hawks spokesperson, Captain Matimba Maluleke: “On 23 July 2022, Kamwaza was en route from Zimbabwe to South Africa when he was stopped by the border police at the Beitbridge port of entry.  The police subjected the truck to a mandatory search and they made a shocking discovery of the explosives that were hidden inside a tool box at the back of his truck.

“The driver was interviewed and it was established that the explosives were destined for 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.”

Kamwaza was in custody until he was sentenced on Friday.

In another separate but similar incident, an undocumented person was also sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for unlawful possession of explosives.

On 27 May 2022, 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 a value of R146 700.

The accused, said Maluleke, Wilman Mwando (40), was arrested and he had been in police custody until he was convicted and sentenced to 15 years direct imprisonment by the Musina Magistrate’s Court on 4 November 2022.

“Mwando was also found guilty of failing to use the port of entry to enter RSA, and for entering and remaining in RSA without legal documentation. He was further fined R5 000 or three months imprisonment on each offence,” he said.

Source: South African Government News Agency