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SA MAN FOUND WITH E830 070 STASHED IN CAR, ARRESTED

29/11/2022 08:48:00 Mbongiseni Ndzimandze

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MBABANE - A tip-off from an anonymous caller led to the police recovering a sum of E830 070 hidden in a South African registered motor vehicle at Ngwenya Border Gate last Monday.

The money, which was found concealed in false compartments was reportedly being smuggled to the neighbouring country. A false compartment is any box, container, space or enclosure intended or designed to conceal any controlled item within a motor vehicle. According to the investigator of the matter, the money was in denominations of R200, R100, R50 and R10.
These are equivalent to the local currency of Emalangeni. Police say they believe the money was ill-gotten and was to be used for illegal activities. The driver of the motor vehicle, who is a South African national, Thando Daniel Zulu, is said to have failed to give the police an explanation when asked about the source of the money and this led to him being arrested.

Laundering

He now stands accused of having contravened Section 41 of the Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Act of 2011. The director of public prosecutions (DPP) has since obtained an order in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crimes Act (POCA) 2018 to preserve the money, pending application for its forfeiture. The court also issued an order allowing the prosecution to seize the motor vehicle, a white Toyota Hilux. In the application, respondents are Zulu, Baphelele Vilakati, who is a liSwati and a South African company trading as Thompson Industrial Painting & Maintenance. The motor vehicle is reportedly registered under the company, hence it has been cited as one of the respondents in the matter.

In his statement annexed to the application, Mbabane Desk Officer Inspector Akhona Dludlu, narrated to the court how he received a tip-off from an anonymous caller informing him about the suspicious motor vehicle. Dludlu submitted that on November 21, 2022, at about 6:30pm, while on duty at the Mbabane Police Station, he received a call from an anonymous caller informing him about a Toyota van, which was about to exit the Ngwenya Border Gate to South Africa. “The informer emphasised that the motor vehicle had a false compartment beneath the bakkie and that the police officers who were conducting the search must not release it to the driver. Acting upon that information, together with three officers, we proceeded to Ngwenya Border Gate,” submitted the desk officer. Inspector Dludlu said upon arrival at the border gate, they met Sergeant Zandile Mkhonta, who was in the company of a man who was introduced as Daniel Thabo Zulu, a South Africa national and a driver of the Toyota Hilux registered ND 736424.

He submitted that they introduced themselves as police officers and further cautioned the driver (Zulu) as per the judges’ rules after having explained their mission. “The driver of the motor vehicle was not cooperative during the investigations, as he was reluctant to speak to us. We noticed that the car and the bakkie were not manufactured from the same factory. It was obvious that it was man-made and we highly suspected that it had a false compartments,” submitted Dludlu. He narrated to the court that it took them four hours to figure out that the car had false as compartments at the back. During the search of the false compartments, Dludlu said, they discovered money. Zulu was then taken to Ngwenya Border Gate Police Post where the money was counted in his presence and it was later handed in as an exhibit.

Meanwhile, in the application to preserve the money, in terms of POCA, Principal Crown Counsel Elsie Matsebula averred that the purpose of the preservation order was to ensure that money was preserved pending the outcome of a request for forfeiture as per Section 50 (1) of the Act. Matsebula, who is the Head of the Asset Forfeiture Unit, averred that it was suspected that the money was proceeds of unlawful activities. It was her submission to the court that, on November 22, 2022, around 6:30pm Sergeant Mkhonta, together with other officers, attended to the white Toyota Hilux. According to the principal Crown counsel, it was upon the searching of the vehicle that she noticed that it had a unique bakkie.

Compartments

Matsebula went on to tell the court that Sergeant Mkhonta further noticed that the bakkie was divided into various compartments. “In the first compartment she found nothing. In the second compartment she noticed three transparent plastic bags which were loaded with money. The third compartment looked empty. Upon discovery of the hidden money, Sergeant Mkhonta called for further assistance from the Scene of Crime Department and the Fraud Department of the Royal Eswatini Police Service who promptly arrived,” averred the principal Crown counsel.

She highlighted to the court that when the driver was asked about the money, he was uncooperative and he failed to give a satisfactory response on the source of the money. Matsebula further asserted that an enquiry was conducted concerning the money that was found hidden in the false compartments. “The police reasonably suspected that the respondents are also involved in elaborate money laundering activities, which is a POCA scheduled offence. Pursuant to our finding, Zulu was then charged with the offence of contravening Section 41(1) of the Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Act, 2011, as amended,” submitted the principal Crown counsel.

She submitted that from the available preliminary evidence, it was apparent that the money was found hidden in the second compartment of the vehicle’s unique bakkie. Matsebula said the money could not be ably explained, if at all, by the driver of the vehicle, being Zulu. “I further submit that at present, preliminary investigations do point that the vehicle is registered under the third respondent (Thompson Industrial Painting & Maintenance). I must hasten to add that at present, we cannot rule out the third respondent as an innocent party for we do not have evidence, as yet relating to its existence ( legally) or its participation in the whole crime of money laundering and financing of terrorism,” contended Matsebula.

Crime

She also submitted that that at present, it could not be ruled out that the company was complicit in the commission of the crime hence it was prudent for the prosecution to seek for a preservation order. “Per police investigations, it is clear that the first respondent (Zulu) concealed the illicit money that was in his possession in one of the compartments of the vehicle unique bakkie. I submit that he knew very well that he would be expected to declare the money as well as state to the police and customs officials the source of it,” submitted the Crown.
Matsebula highlighted that the only way to launder the money from Eswatini to South Africa was to try to hide it in the vehicle’s unusual bakkie’s compartments which, unfortunately for Zulu, backfired as the police manning the border gate demanded to search the vehicle, acting on a tip-off from an anonymous caller. The principal Crown counsel brought it to the attention of the court that Zulu recorded a statement with the police, where he gave an explanation on his visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini. The preservation order was granted by Judge Maxine Langwenya.