eBusiness Weekly
Gertrude Mawire
Humans are so creative at coming up with ways to avoid statutory responsibilities. ZIMRA and many other customs administrations the world over are battling to keep up with all the ways in which the perverted among us are coming up with new ways to avoid paying their statutory and legal obligations and bringing in prohibited goods into countries.
We need to ask ourselves why we cannot stop this scourge at some point. However, in this expose’ we will just talk about some of the wild means by which the obstinate smugglers rob the state fiscus of revenues and bring in censored goods. The meaning of the word smuggle is widened to more than just “jumping the border” in this write-up.
While the Americas regions and some Western countries are bogged by drug, human and illicit good contraband, I would say our biggest worry is in the revenue reducing contraband.
There is obviously a need to tackle the drug issues as they are also causing our narcotics units’ headaches and threatening our social structures.
The Business Insider News says smugglers have developed a variety of inventive methods to move drugs and other contraband across borders.
Another website, Cracked.com noted that when you combine contraband, poverty, desperation and lots of spare time, you get the bizarre world of the smugglers. This smuggler is the culprit who develops ingenious methods to smuggle contraband across borders.
Concealment of the contraband
Some fifteen plus years ago, when I was a junior customs official, I used to think that smugglers would conceal goods depending on the type of goods.
This changed when I recently read about attempted smuggling of a stolen Ford Ranger wrapped in “jiggies”. It was intercepted at Westenburg, just outside Polokwane in Limpopo Province. I am tempted to default to Whatsapp lingo and go kkkk, but this is no laughing matter. It almost happened; this car was said to be destined for Zimbabwe.
So I will now say, anything can happen in the “concealing” department of the smugglers’ world. ZIMRA officials therefore need to be very alert and open minded when they do physical examinations at the ports of entry. It is a hard job. Some spiritual inspiration and intuition works sometimes?
Remember the watches drama at the Plumbridge border years ago with people of a certain Christian denomination at the centre of the issue. I am told that sounding alarms gave away the shameless smugglers but I still believe that intuition played a part in the officer insisting on correct documentation until they rang. No one wants to delay a mourning procession.
ZIMRA needs to invest in more contraband detecting equipment in addition to the scanners like Density Meters, Lie detectors during interviews etc.
Enticement of the customs official and any other people within the importation ring by paying bribes to one, some or all members within the ring
Smuggling and corruption are serial cousins. We have all seen a lot of news about port of entry gatekeepers being arrested for accepting bribes in exchange for letting contraband go without paying duties and meeting other statutory obligations like import licenses.
Besides being greedy, these officers are ignorant because the bribe is usually a very small part of the value of the contraband. No Smuggler plays small.
Distraction of the customs official
Ports of entry are usually very hectic environments. Smugglers have a habit of either talking a lot, or engaging in entertaining mind fixating activities when they bring in goods. ZIMRA officials sometimes get distracted thus and let contraband slip through their fingers. At times they also set bait by offering a lesser crime or mistake, while the real deal is slipping through.
Duping of inexperienced officials is usually achieved through use of fake documents
During the six years I spent in the examining hall of the Beitbridge Border Post commercial office, I encountered dubious documents of many types. Fake certificates of origin, tampered invoices, packing lists, bills of lading etc. where either values or descriptions were not authentic.
A lot of them were just genuine errors by the document originators. Some, I believe were made to distract me from requesting for a physical examination.
For a few, my intuition worked and I did request for a physical examination anyway.
Yet again, I did manage to identify some smuggling attempts simply by scrutinizing the documents, importer history and other information at my disposal. I know some contraband might have slipped through my fingers though due to my inexperience.
Again I suggest that the ZIMRA document examining officer should be well seasoned, with excellent reasoning capacity, not easily excitable, knowledgeable of science, art, law and human psychology.
Taking advantage of lax border security, customs risking strategies, under-staffing and just simply passing through the border
There are times when the ports of entry are very ‘open’ to smugglers. Times when the gatekeepers are on strike, go slow, or undergoing staff reshuffling exercises. Some smugglers are sometimes just lucky to be left alone when officers allow them the green route passage due to faulty standard risking procedures.
Most “transit into Zimbabwe” smugglers used to take advantage of the relaxed treatment of Transit Cargo before ZIMRA introduced the Cargo Tracking system early last year. I call them “transit into Zimbabwe” because all documentation will clearly be for goods exiting Zimbabwe but the goods do not physically leave Zimbabwe. In most of the cases the documents would leave Zimbabwe if the smuggler entered “corruption mode” or “distract the officer or dupe the naïve officer modes” to get documents regularised to show that the goods left Zimbabwe.
ZIMRA system failures have occasionally happened and smugglers celebrate when that happens. It gives them an opportunity to bring in contraband through several means. When it was down for close to three months starting mid December 2017, it was apparent officers were not ready to handle manual submissions. They did not know how to decipher them. Bills of entries were submitted for contraband.
Outright abuse of office by an official when they are importing on their own capacity or for family, friends and other close people
It is very sad that a few among the trusted gatekeepers take their privileged position of manning the ports of entry as a ticket to do as they please.
They expect the impracticable situation where they benefit from the product they produce directly.
In shona, they say “mbudzi inodya payakasungirirwa”. They become the smugglers themselves by creating fictitious clearance documents and entering into smuggling rings amongst themselves by just passing through the ports without following due process.
The senior ones do not even have to enter into rings but use undue influence on their juniors to let their contraband go through. There is a very profound recording of the late Ghanaian president John Evans Atta Mills when he had to Storm the Tema Port to confront Custom Excise and Preventive Service and the Port Security staff over a video which showed them engaging in corrupt practices.
He was visibly angry and told off the corrupt elements. I am sure after such a whipping some sober minded officers changed their ways.
ZIMRA officers should know that the country does not owe them anything; they are quite fairly well remunerated by standards in the country from my experience in various sectors of the economy.
Intimidation of officials is usually done by politicians and influential people in society.
As a customs official, you will at some point encounter this type of a smuggler. The one who has a NAME or knows someone with a name therefore you have to let their goods enter with no due process having been done.
For fear of victimisation, officials sometimes just let these goods pass through.
Our current leadership has expressed in no uncertain terms that they do not tolerate this kind of behaviour, we should therefore see the dearth of this kind of smuggler.
Again I quote Mills, he said “if anybody comes with the president’s name, the first thing you should do is arrest them”. Section 13 of the Customs & Excise Act gives ZIMRA officers the powers to arrest.
Use of unofficial entry points — rivers, fences etc
Lastly, we have all heard of smugglers facing their demise in the Zambezi River. Abandoned contraband has been discovered at undesignated border crossings. These types of smugglers live by the rules of the jungle just like trophy poachers therefore ZIMRA needs to be vigilant. Other more well equipped security forces are a must in intercepting this type of a smuggler.
This expose is only a summary of this undesirable art. However, thanks to technology, there is a lot of information available to fight it.
Disclaimer: This Article is not meant to create a consultant/client Relationship. Readers are advised to consult their Consultants for specific advisory services.
About the author: Gertrude Mawire is a Fiscal Compliance and Investment Advisor based in Harare. She writes in her personal capacity. Gertrude, a member of ZNCEE ( customs & excise experts) holds an MSc in Finance & Investments (NUST) Bachelor of Business Studies (UZ), IOBZ Diploma various other Certificates. She can be contacted on [email protected], [email protected], and 0712 437 256
