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The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) is stepping up efforts to combat gold smuggling through technology-driven surveillance, intelligence gathering and asset recovery, with the acquisition of drones and gold detectors forming part of its strengthened enforcement approach, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
Chief Superintendent Kumboedza Mavhaku, Commanding Officer of the ZRP CID Minerals, Flora and Fauna Unit, said the police were expanding their operational capabilities to tackle illegal gold trading networks and protect the integrity of Zimbabwe’s gold value chain.
Speaking at a Fidelity Gold Refinery (FGR) stakeholder consultative meeting held under the theme “Strengthening Partnerships for Sustainable Gold Mobilisation and Responsible Sourcing,” Chief Supt Mavhaku said gold smuggling was not merely a law enforcement issue but a broader economic security concern.
“Gold remains one of Zimbabwe’s most strategic national assets, underpinning foreign currency generation, economic growth and the attainment of wealth by 2030,” he said.
“Preventing gold smuggling and illegal gold trade is fundamentally an economic security, governance and compliance imperative.”
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Chief Supt Mavhaku said the police were also shifting towards an enforcement model that prioritises recovering illegally traded gold and taking offenders to court, rather than concentrating exclusively on arrests.
Through the Gold Trade Enforcement Unit (GTEU), a joint initiative involving the ZRP and FGR, authorities have been conducting operations targeting illegal activities across the gold value chain, including production and processing sites.
He cited an operation conducted on 29 October as one of the recent enforcement activities that had resulted in significant recoveries.
“Our approach now is not only to arrest but to recover and take the person to court,” he said.
“The assumption is that when we recover gold from a perpetrator, they are surviving through the retaining of gold. So we go step by step to disrupt the whole value chain.”
The approach is intended to disrupt the financial incentives sustaining illegal gold trading by targeting both the mineral and the networks involved in its movement and commercialisation.
Chief Supt Mavhaku also highlighted the cross-border dimension of gold smuggling, saying the police were working with the Department of Immigration and other stakeholders through joint operations at ports of entry and exit.
He said intelligence gathering, visits to production and processing sites, and coordinated enforcement operations were central to identifying and disrupting illegal activities.
On strengthening the police’s capacity to detect and investigate offences, he said the acquisition of drones and gold detectors would support its operations, alongside enhanced anti-money laundering measures.
“From our side, we have acquired drones and gold detectors. We are also going to enhance anti-money laundering efforts,” he said.
He called for closer cooperation between law enforcement agencies, FGR and mining industry stakeholders, urging participants to exchange intelligence and information on the methods used by illegal gold traders.
He warned that illicit mineral trading could facilitate wider financial crimes, including money laundering and potentially terrorist financing, while undermining responsible sourcing frameworks and confidence in the gold market.
For Zimbabwe, preventing gold leakages is important to protecting the formal gold marketing system and maximising the contribution of the mineral to foreign currency generation and national development.
Chief Supt Mavhaku said safeguarding the integrity of the gold trading system required all stakeholders to work together, adding that Zimbabwe needed to protect the institutional arrangements supporting its gold trade.
“Our goal is integrity in our gold,” he said.
He said stronger cooperation and more effective enforcement would help reduce gold leakages, improve responsible sourcing and ensure that more value from Zimbabwe’s gold resources was retained within the formal economy.