Chinese national arrested, remanded over alleged 720-tonne lithium smuggling

A CHINESE national accused of masterminding an operation to smuggle 720 tonnes of unbeneficiated lithium ore out of Zimbabwe has appeared in court and been remanded in custody to Monday for bail consideration.

Ning Yaokun (42), also known as Tony and co-director of Orequest (Pvt) Ltd, appeared before Harare Magistrate Marewanazvo Gofa facing charges of contravening Section 182 of the Customs and Excise Act [Chapter 23:02], attempted smuggling as defined under Section 189 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23], as read with Section 182 of the Customs and Excise Act, and unlawful dealing.

He was arrested on September 10 after surrendering himself to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC).

The State alleges Ning established an illicit mineral-processing and dispatch site at Plot 5, Cheltenham Park Drive, Ruwa, where lithium ore was stockpiled and processed before being exported using fraudulent documentation.

“Ning hatched the plan in December 2025 and leased a six-hectare piece of land for US$2,000 a month,” the State alleged.

“He allegedly installed jaw crushers, a front-end loader, wheelbarrows and TLB machines and employed local workers before beginning to stockpile lithium ore in April 2026 and operations the following month.”

The State alleges Ning and his accomplices, including Shuvai Muza and Charlene Tanyaradzwa Chivandire, arranged fraudulent paperwork and transport logistics to move the lithium through Forbes Border Post in Mutare, destined for China.

The court heard that Orequest allegedly booked 40 shipping containers with Maersk on July 16. Six days later, two trucks collected empty containers and transported them to the Ruwa premises, where they were allegedly loaded with lithium ore and sealed.

The scheme was allegedly exposed when some consignments were intercepted at Forbes Border Post.

After learning of the interception, Muza allegedly instructed drivers to remain in Ruwa while attempts were made to secure alternative documentation. When these efforts failed, the transporters allegedly abandoned the journey and offloaded two containers containing lithium ore at a truck stop in Lochinvar, Harare.

A subsequent search of the Ruwa premises allegedly uncovered a 300-tonne stockpile.

Investigators recovered 420 tonnes of lithium ore — 300 tonnes from the Ruwa site, 60 tonnes from the abandoned containers at Lochinvar and another 60 tonnes intercepted at Forbes Border Post.

The State further alleges that 23 trucks, each carrying 30 tonnes of lithium ore, had already been successfully exported, with another 30 tonnes allegedly cleared on a separate truck.

Ning allegedly left Zimbabwe for China on July 29 after realising that the operation had been compromised.

ZACC said the alleged smuggling caused financial prejudice to the State, although the full extent of the prejudice is yet to be quantified.

Investigators also seized a jaw-crusher plant, front-end loader, TLB machines, heavy-duty generator and 20 wheelbarrows allegedly used in the operation.

The State is relying on Maersk booking documents, allegedly fraudulent export documents bearing the name of Bikita Minerals and witness statements.

Other accused persons in the matter — Minmin Song, Muza and Chivandire — have already appeared in court and are on remand, while another suspect, identified as Malvern, remains at large.

Lawrence Gagarahwe prosecuted.

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