MPUMALANGA. – Antonio Charles Mugabe (26), a Mozambican citizen, has been sentenced to 10 years direct imprisonment after pleading guilty to three charges relating to the possession, transportation and importation of a military mortar bomb into South Africa.
Lt.Col. Magonseni Nkosi, Hawks spokesperson, says Mugabe appeared in the Boschfontein Regional Court on Monday. The case stems from an incident on 23 August this year at the Lebombo border post near Komatipoort, where officials during a joint border security operation discovered a suspected object in his travel bag. Nkosi further says police and the revenue service scanned the baggage during routine inspections. A search revealed a 60 mm mortar bomb, a military explosive device. Mugabe was taken into custody at the border post.
The Hawks' serious organised crime unit in Mbombela handled the investigation, after which the case was transferred from the Komatipoort Magistrate's Court to the Boschfontein Regional Court.
Mugabe pleaded guilty to all three charges and was sentenced to 10 years direct imprisonment.
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
