Confusion, excitement as BURS raids car dealership
Sharon Mathala | Thursday April 21, 2016 11:21
Sources within the intelligence community told Mmegi that the owners were selling the vehicles at low prices because “they had to get rid of everything. They knew we were coming for them”.
The Mmegi team arrived at the scene at 10am and there was chaos at the entrance of the garage. Those outside the garage were screaming to be let inside.
About five Botswana Unified Revenue Services (BURS) officers arrived and locked themselves inside the office with the dealership owners.
At the gate, police officers had blocked the entrance, while members of the public who were already inside the yard were busy inspecting the vehicles.
“Re bata go tsena, gatwe dikoloi di cheap ke eng le sa re bulele,” one would-be customer yelled. News broke out late Tuesday evening that the car dealership was selling cars at give-away prices with some cars being sold for as low as P10,000.
It was not immediately clear what offences the car dealers had committed.
Speaking to this publication at the yard, the manager Mohammad Musaddiq said there was no truth in the allegations that they were involved in criminal activities.
“I have paid my tax and on time. I am not part of any drug syndicate. The rumours are false. It is crazy here, I do not know how Facebook got to know that there was a sale here, it is not true,” said Musaddiq.
BURS officials at the scene refused to talk to Mmegi when asked why they were raiding the car dealership.
Efforts to reach the station commander at the Mogoditshane Police station, Nkwebi Chilisa were futile at the time of going to press as his phone rang unanswered.
One of the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) officers, who was at the scene, said that they had already registered cases of fraud.
“Others have been conned of their money during the fracas, others came to them claiming they were agents of the car dealership and they took their money and fled. We are trying to avoid this, hence we have temporarily shut down the business,” the CID officer said, speaking in confidence.