A 28-year-old Zimbabwean truck driver, employed by a Cape Town haulage company, was given a choice between a US$500 fine or two months in jail on Friday for attempting to smuggle more than 600kg of stolen copper cables worth R100 000 into South Africa through the Beit Bridge Border Post.

The stolen copper cables were concealed inside two spare wheels of the truck.

Mateyo Mazorodze, who resides in Chitungwiza, was convicted on his own plea of guilty of illegal possession of copper by a local magistrate, Ms Gloria Takundwa. The stolen copper was also forfeited to the state as part of the sentence.

The prosecutor, Mr Jabulani Mberesi, said Mazorodze had arrived at the Beit Bridge Border Post on 29 August, driving a Western Cape-registered haulage truck, which was towing an empty trailer. He was coming from Harare and heading to Cape Town. The court heard that upon completing the customs formalities, he indicated that the truck was empty.

However, as part of the customs procedures, the truck was taken to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) container depot for a scanner check, leading to the discovery of the contraband hidden inside the two spare wheels and Mazorodze was subsequently arrested. It was further established that the cables, weighing 610kg, which Mazorodze had intended to smuggle into South Africa, belonged to the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA).