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- Feb 11, 2006
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Two Mozambicans, a Congolese and a Tanzanian were arrested in Vereeniging, South Africa, on Sunday, in illegal possession of five kilos of gold, reports Tuesday's issue of the independent daily "O Pais".
The paper cites South African police spokesperson Jimmy Dhlamini as saying that 'the suspects were arrested by the police in possession of five kilos of raw gold on Sunday at about 6:00 hours while traveling in a Toyota Corolla vehicle, with a foreign number plate, probably from Tanzania, heading for Johannesburg".
The two Mozambicans, Sebastiao Trinta, 34, and his brother Afonso Trinta, 30, were born in the northern province of Nampula. The Congolese was named as Patrick Marie, 28, and the Tanzanian only as John, aged 36.
The paper quotes Dlamini as saying that the seized gold is worth 500 million rands. The figure is absurd. The gold price quoted early on Tuesday morning was 252.11 rands per ounce. So five kilos would fetch 1.26 million rands, or rather more than 171,000 US dollars, at current exchange rates.
The South African police believe that the final destination of the gold was the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it would have been sold.
Dlamini said that "During the inspection of the vehicle and its documents, we found five kilos of gold hidden in the back seat in a black bag. In the same operation we also found two people who had no passports. These are the Mozambicans".
He added that the four are now under arrest for further investigations as to the origin of the gold.
"We believe that they are part of an international network of gold traffickers, involving people from the mines from where it is extracted, people from the customs services, and from immigration, and we also suspect that there may be people from the government involved in this business", said Dhlamini.
However, the Trinta brothers deny all knowledge of the gold. Sebastiao admitted that he has known Patrick Marie and John for the past six months. He said that he and his brother work in a shop selling vehicle parts in Tanzania and that they were in South Africa on business.
When asked when and how he came to know Patrick and John, Sebastiao said "we knew them in Tanzania where I and my brother have been living for more than five years. We did not know that they were gold traffickers. We thought they were dealing in vehicle parts".
For his part, Patrick denied knowing either John or the Trinta brothers. "I was found in the vehicle because I asked for a lift to Johannesburg. I am an honest worker and I am not involved in any kind of trafficking", he said.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique
The paper cites South African police spokesperson Jimmy Dhlamini as saying that 'the suspects were arrested by the police in possession of five kilos of raw gold on Sunday at about 6:00 hours while traveling in a Toyota Corolla vehicle, with a foreign number plate, probably from Tanzania, heading for Johannesburg".
The two Mozambicans, Sebastiao Trinta, 34, and his brother Afonso Trinta, 30, were born in the northern province of Nampula. The Congolese was named as Patrick Marie, 28, and the Tanzanian only as John, aged 36.
The paper quotes Dlamini as saying that the seized gold is worth 500 million rands. The figure is absurd. The gold price quoted early on Tuesday morning was 252.11 rands per ounce. So five kilos would fetch 1.26 million rands, or rather more than 171,000 US dollars, at current exchange rates.
The South African police believe that the final destination of the gold was the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it would have been sold.
Dlamini said that "During the inspection of the vehicle and its documents, we found five kilos of gold hidden in the back seat in a black bag. In the same operation we also found two people who had no passports. These are the Mozambicans".
He added that the four are now under arrest for further investigations as to the origin of the gold.
"We believe that they are part of an international network of gold traffickers, involving people from the mines from where it is extracted, people from the customs services, and from immigration, and we also suspect that there may be people from the government involved in this business", said Dhlamini.
However, the Trinta brothers deny all knowledge of the gold. Sebastiao admitted that he has known Patrick Marie and John for the past six months. He said that he and his brother work in a shop selling vehicle parts in Tanzania and that they were in South Africa on business.
When asked when and how he came to know Patrick and John, Sebastiao said "we knew them in Tanzania where I and my brother have been living for more than five years. We did not know that they were gold traffickers. We thought they were dealing in vehicle parts".
For his part, Patrick denied knowing either John or the Trinta brothers. "I was found in the vehicle because I asked for a lift to Johannesburg. I am an honest worker and I am not involved in any kind of trafficking", he said.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique
