BabuK
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- Jul 30, 2008
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Tanzania Minerals Audit Agency (TMAA)
Gemstones worth billions of shillings were recovered from foreigners in a joint operation by security forces between September and early this month, it has been learnt.
The operations involved the Tanzania Minerals Audit Agency (TMAA), Tanzania Intelligence and Security Services (TISS), the police Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and the Tanzania Peoples Defence Forces (TPDF), investigations by The Guardian have revealed.
The investigation funded by the Tanzania Media Fund (TMF), learnt that the assortment of gemstones valued at over 1.6bn/- were being smuggled through the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) and the Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA).
We have established a very good working relationship with the police and other government agencies in our efforts to curb gemstone smuggling, Bruno Mteta, a senior TMAA official said in an exclusive interview this week on behalf of TMAA Chief Executive Officer, Eng Paul Masanja.
It is this good inter-agency working relationship which has made it possible for TMAA to nab many offenders in the minerals sector. We exchange information with the police, Mteta said.
He cited an example of Thursday last week when the Kilimanjaro Regional Police Commander, ACP Robert Boaz awarded a TMAA worker with a police medal for bravery, honesty and courage following a heroic maneuver which foiled the smuggling of 6.1 kilos of cocaine at KIA.
Investigations showed that on the material day, the security apparatus at KIA was split whereby TPDF, TISS and one female CID police officer were on one side helping TMAA.
Police officers and Airport Security staff manning luggage scanners on the other side tried to help a cocaine smuggler get the drugs on board an airline that had stopped at KIA.
The TMAA worker put his foot down and the bag containing the cocaine which had already passed the scanners was retrieved from luggage handlers and the culprit was arrested. The TMAA worker had refused a 50m/- bribe, investigations revealed.
The list which has been used for some time to smuggle things out of KIA has been identified, and it was this knowledge which led to the arrest through a careful set-up by TPDF, TISS TMAA and a section of the CID.
We get help from the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) staff, the police, immigration departments, and other security agencies in locating and arresting mineral smugglers, Mteta said, acknowledging that cooperation was not forthcoming all the time.
On August 20 this year at a Jangwani Beach house one Briton was allegedly found in possession of a huge assortment of gemstones contrary to section 18(2) of the 2010 Minerals Act.
Weighing 81,494.85 grammes according to the TMAA experts the gemstones value was put at USD 680,256.29 equivalent to 1,088,410,064/-.
On September 4 this year, the police submitted to TMAA another parcel of gemstones apprehended by the police during the first search at the suspects home. This other lot contained gemstones weighing 1,111.90 grammes worth USD 156,248.97 equivalent to 249,998,400/- .
According to Mteta a case of illegal possession of gemstones has been filed in court.
In another inter-agency co-operation to combat mineral smuggling, TMAA and TPDF agreed to set free a Chinese military official alleged to have been attempting to smuggle gemstones out of the country.
TMAA and TPDF agreed in principle to let him fly back to China but without the gemstones, said Mteta.
He added that on October 22 this year an Asian was also caught attempting to smuggle out through KIA, a packet of Tanzanite worth USD 123,000.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN