Skip to main content

Congo seizes 375 kilos of coltan being smuggled to Rwanda

375 kilos of coltan seized  before  reaching the hands of  Mrs Jeannette Kagame ( the wife of President  Kagame) who is involved in clandestine smuggling of minerals from RD Congo


Congo seizes 375 kilos of coltan being smuggled to Rwanda

Customs officers in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have seized 375 kilograms of coltan, a precious mineral used in electronics, en route to Rwanda, an official in Kinshasa said on Saturday.

The seizure was made Thursday at the "Great Barrier" border crossing, said the minister of mines in North Kivu province, Jean Ruyange.

Officers stopped a jeep headed towards Gisenyi, across the border in Rwanda, because their suspicions were raised on seeing that the tires were depressed even though no cargo was visible.

The following day "they noticed unusual work around the chassis, removed a metal plate and found a quantity of coltan, around 375 kilos (825 pounds)," Ruyange added.

The metallic ore is used in electronic devices such as mobile phones and laptops.

Ruyange said the driver was taken away for questioning and an investigation was under way to determine the origin of the ore and whether other shipments have already crossed the border.

In November 2011, Rwanda returned to the DR Congo more than 80 tonnes of cassiterite, coltan and wolframite that had been smuggled out of North Kivu.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Le Troisième Mandat de Louise Mushikiwabo à l'OIF : Entre Précédent et Principe Démocratique.

Le Troisième Mandat de Louise Mushikiwabo à l'OIF : Entre Précédent et Principe Démocratique. L'Alternance à l'OIF : Pourquoi un Troisième Mandat Fragilise la Crédibilité de la Francophonie. Introduction Louise Mushikiwabo veut un troisième mandat à la tête de l'Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. Son annonce, faite bien avant l'émergence d'autres candidats, rappelle une tactique familière en Afrique : affirmer qu'on a le soutien populaire sans jamais le prouver publiquement. La méthode est rodée. Des dirigeants africains l'utilisent depuis des décennies pour prolonger leur règne. Ils clament que "le peuple le demande" ou que "les partenaires soutiennent" cette reconduction. Aucune preuve formelle n'est nécessaire. L'affirmation devient réalité politique. Mais voilà le problème : la Francophonie prêche la démocratie, l'État de droit et l'alternance au pouvoir. Peut-elle tolérer en son sein ce qu...

-“The enemies of Freedom do not argue ; they shout and they shoot.”

-“The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.”

-“The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.”

-“I have loved justice and hated iniquity: therefore I die in exile.”

IRIN - Great Lakes

UN News Centre - Africa