Lusaka – Eleven suspects – six Zambians and five Egyptians – arrested in the “Gold Scam” bust at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport earlier this month remain in custody.
Contrary to initial reports, Zambian authorities did not arrest any South African businessman in the raid of the now-impounded aircraft, where millions of US dollars and fake gold were recovered.
Lusaka Times (https://tinyurl.com/2ao8jngm) is reporting that on Wednesday, Chief Resident Magistrate Davies Chibwili at the Lusaka Magistrate Court ruled that all the suspects implicated in the alleged Gold Scam will continue to be held in custody “until further notice”.
Before the ruling, Magistrate Chibwili admitted a “Certificate of Denial of Bail” issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions Gilbert Phiri, who asserted that releasing the suspects would be detrimental to Zambias interests.
Among the Zambian suspects are Kenneth Kaunda International Airport Police Commanding Officer Robson Moonga, State Security Officer Francis Mateyo, Commercial Pilot Patrick Kawanu, Accountant Oswald Diangamo, and businessmen Shadrick Kasanda and Dr. Jim Belemu.
The five Egyptian suspects include Walid Botros, Mounir Awad, Mohamed Gooda, Yasser Abdelghafor, and Michael Botros.
The suspects also face charges of espionage due to their alleged connection to the Gold Scam uncovered at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport on 13 August 2023.
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Days after the arrest, Law firm Antoine Vey & Associates, released a statement claiming that a South African businessman was among the people arrested.
The statement read in part: “The crew and passengers of the private San Remo registered aircraft that flew from Cairo and landed for refueling and to pick up a prominent South African businessman on his way to Johannesburg.
“The businessman on board with his entourage and security detail, armed with fully licensed handguns, were forced physically to disembark, were deprived of their passports and placed under custody first at the airport and, later, at a police station inside Lusaka.”
Although Zambian publications named a South African as the businessman arrested in Lusaka, their reports turned out to be false.
