The planned June luxury 50th birthday celebration in Zanzibar for alleged gold syndicate figure Sicelo “Stillo” Mbambo now appears unlikely as he is now the subject of a police manhunt after authorities in Bindura impounded six tipper trucks loaded with suspected illegally extracted gold ore in a major crackdown at Phoenix Prince Mine.
Police say Mbambo fled moments before the operation, leaving behind six drivers and a contracted security team now assisting investigations under a case registered as RRB 6420180.
Police have also named truck owner Stanley Kangoro in connection with the probe, while investigators are reportedly tracing financial and asset links, including arrangements linked to Mbambo’s planned June 5 to 9 celebrations at Hotel Le Mersenne in Zanzibar.
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Preliminary findings cited by investigators suggest the alleged operation ran under a 70-30 profit-sharing arrangement in which artisanal miners retained 70 percent of extracted gold while surrendering 30 percent to operators allegedly linked to Botha Gold Mine, outside the legal framework governing the concession held by Freda Rebecca Gold Mine under Mutapa Gold Resources.
Authorities estimate Mbambo may have benefited from around 10 kilogrammes of gold, valued at more than US$850,000, though the contents of the seized ore trucks may prove central to establishing the scale of the alleged operation.
The crackdown follows heightened scrutiny at Phoenix Prince Mine after multiple prohibition orders and the death of 26-year-old artisanal miner Tinashe Chauke.
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