Lusaka | Tuesday, 17 June 2025 – The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has today filed an application before the Economic and Financial Crimes Division of the High Court, seeking the non-conviction based forfeiture of US$2,320,000.00, seven gold bars, and a Toyota Rush vehicle suspected to be proceeds and instruments of crime.
The application follows the April 18 arrest of 27-year-old Indian national Aamir Soeb Patel, who was intercepted at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (KKIA) while allegedly attempting to smuggle the cash and gold out of the country aboard a flight to Dubai. Acting on intelligence, a joint operations team, comprising officers from the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) and other state security agencies, moved in swiftly, seizing the concealed items moments before departure.
According to the affidavit sworn in support of the application by Drug Enforcement Commission Investigator, Ms. Yvonne Bwalya Mulenga, the seized cash, bundled in neat stacks of US dollars, was carefully concealed alongside seven gleaming gold bars, with an estimated combined value exceeding US$2.8 million. The Toyota Rush believed to have ferried the loot to the airport was also impounded and is among the items set to be forfeited. This bust ranks among the largest intercepted at a Zambian border point in recent memory.
In making the application, the DPP has invoked non-conviction based forfeiture laws, an increasingly powerful legal tool in the fight against organised financial crime. These laws allow the State to strip criminals of assets suspected to be linked to crime, even without a prior conviction. Importantly, today’s application does not rule out future criminal investigation and prosecution. Investigations remain active, and Patel could still face more criminal charges depending on the direction the evidence takes.
More than just a legal development, this case is being hailed as a milestone in inter-agency cooperation. It reflects exactly the kind of outcome envisioned under the Inter-Agency Framework on Financial Investigations and Asset Recovery, an ambitious platform designed to foster intelligence sharing, coordination, and rapid response among enforcement bodies.
As the case progresses, the message is clear – the era of porous borders, quiet cash movements, and unchallenged smuggling is over – Zambia’s resolve to stem the tide of financial crimes is no longer just talk, it is action!