SA businessman busted with over
MBABANE - Police have arrested an astute South African businessman, who attempted to smuggle over E870 000 through the Ngwenya Border Gate.
Lazarus Mphosi (38), who owns a number of filling stations in Eswatini and in the Republic of South Africa, was arrested at the border gate while trying to enter the country with the cash, which was hidden inside his car.
Information gathered was that Mphosi was caught at around 12:30pm, when police, who were conducting a routine stop and search at the border gate, stopped his Land Cruiser registered KH 141 KT GP at the entry point.
The law enforcers are said to have then asked for permission to search the car and it was during that exercise that they discovered a sum of E879 700 hidden under the car seats.
Declared
The police, after learning that he had not declared the money to the officials, proceeded to charge him for contravening Section 41 (1) of the Money Laundering and Finance of Terrorism Act of 2011. The businessman was then taken to Mbabane Magistrates Court, where he was detained for hours. He appeared before Mbabane Magistrate Sifiso Vilakati and pleaded guilty. His attorney, Noncedo Ndlangamandla and the prosecution, presented a statement of agreed facts to the court. The businessman stated that he did not declare the money when he was obligated to do so by the law.
In the statement, the businessman stated that he committed the offence and would not challenge any State witnesses. The court sentenced him to two years imprisonment with an option to pay a fine of E30 000.
The magistrate, however, suspended half of the sentence, which means the businessman paid
E15 000 to gain his freedom. The police applied to keep the money for a period of 90 days while they continued with their investigations into the source of the money and what it was intended for.
When he appeared in court, there were a number of people who were suspected to be his bodyguards and some journalists who were seen taking pictures were forced to delete them.
Unlike other appearances in court, the businessman was produced late in the evening, at around 5:50pm.
In the country, he owns a number of filling stations, with one situated in the Shiselweni Region. The police travelled with him to Hlatikhulu to ascertain if he was indeed the owner of the filling station as alleged.
The Mphosi family are the founders of Rheinland Investments, which employs over 300 people and also the founders of Global Fuel Group, the fastest growing oil group in Africa under the holding company Rheinland Investments, which has 75 fuel garages.
The company is one of the sponsors of South Africa’s Baroka FC, which originates from Polokwane, Limpopo, according to information sourced from the internet. Mphosi is not the first South African national to be arrested after he was found trying to smuggle an almost similar amount of money at the Ngwenya Border Gate.
In 2022, at the same border gate, police arrested a South Africa national who was found trying to smuggle a sum of E830 070. This was after the police