MOTORS BOSS IN ZAMBIAN COURT, ALSO WANTED BY INTERPOL FOR HUMAN SMUGGLING RELATED ALLEGATIONS
STAR motors proprietor Wahdat Hussain has been dragged to court in connection with possession of several cars suspected of being proceeds of crime and the State has urged the Lusaka Magistrate’s Court not to grant him bail pending trial because he is a flight risk.
The State further submitted yesterday that the suspect also has eight passports and that he is also wanted by Interpol wanted.
Anti-Corruption Commission(ACC) assistant director-legal Gloria Muyunda told Lusaka magistrate Trevor Kasanda that ACC has information that Mr Hussain is wanted in South Africa and Botswana for alleged human trafficking and money laundering,” Ms Muyunda told magistrate Trevor Kasanda.
The accused, who allegedly uses two different names, is appearing before magistrate Kasanda charged with possession of property suspected of being proceeds of crime.
Between January 1,2021 and 27, 2024, Hussain did possesses a grey Toyota Fortuner, white Toyota Hilux, BMW X5, White Toyota Fortuner, Land cruiser Prado VX and two black and maroon Range Rovers, all cars are reasonably suspected of being proceeds of crime.
When the case came up for plea, defence lawyers, among them Emmanuel Phiri, applied for bail pending trial for his client, who is of fixed abode capable of raising sureties.
“He will meet the conditions that the court will impose. The spirit behind bail pending trial is that the accused is innocent until proven guilty,” Mr Phiri said.
But the State objected to the application because the accused was is a flight risk.
However, another defence lawyer Nkula Botha argued that his client cannot flee because the State seized his travel documents, adding that he is “a man with investments in Zambia and is of fixed abode,” Mr Botha.
There was also an argument that there was no documentary evidence concerning alleged cases the accused is alleged to have committed in other countries.
To prove their submission, the State produced evidence showing that Mr Hussain was on a wanted list among them an Interpol report for the accused which was last updated on April 12, 2022 and his South African passport under the names, Wajid Ahmed.
“This is the passport that he first used to enter Zambia in 2018. We also have his application for the temporary employment permit under the name Wajid Ahmed which he applied for on February 20, 2018,” Ms Muyunda said.
She said the Interpol report also shows that he goes by name of Hussain Wahdat, Ahmed Wajid, and a nickname, Ali.
“The report shows that he is of Pakistan nationality with eight different passports from Pakistan and South Africa. The report also shows that he is wanted in South Africa over human smuggling related charges, corruption, and fraud. The report says the main suspect is involved in smuggling humans seeking asylum,” Ms Muyunda said, adding that it has been difficult to apprehend Mr Hussain since he uses two different names, including a nick name.
The court will next week decided whether to grant bail to the accused.
Mwebantu
Good job!
Zambia is not a playground for illegalities.