A syndicate led by Chinese national Zuo Wenzhong and Australian businessman Moham Karim allegedly smuggled over 120kg of gold worth US$10 million from Kwekwe’s Silobela gold belt into the black market.
Their company, Podhill (Pvt) Ltd, declared less than 4kg of gold in 2024, despite internal records showing thousands of kilograms processed monthly.
Investigators say Zuo, together with He Huayang, Duan Yuanbin, and Taleb, ran a covert operation smuggling gold to Dubai and China, bypassing official channels.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police Minerals and Border Control Unit has launched an investigation into Podhill, Generous Resources, and Milhub, uncovering financial ledgers and private sales that reveal gold worth over US$10 million diverted from state oversight.
