Copper declared as cement: Avocado Mining admits attempted smuggling — and its K100,000 fine falls due the day after tomorrow

The paperwork said Portland cement. The trucks, according to the Zambia Revenue Authority, were carrying copper concentrate — thirteen consignments of it, valued for duty purposes at more than K23.9 million, declared on thirteen bills of entry in a July 2025 export attempt that would have dodged roughly K4 million in export duty. On Tuesday last week, the company behind the declaration admitted it in court.

Avocado Mining Limited, based in Kalulushi, pleaded guilty on 22 September to ten counts of attempted smuggling before the Economic and Financial Crimes Court division of the Kitwe Subordinate Court. The conviction was entered under Section 149(a), read with Section 155, of the Customs and Excise Act. The court imposed a fine of K100,000, payable by 30 September — the day after tomorrow. Separately from the fine, the company has paid K5.4 million in assessed duty and penalties to the authority, and reimbursed the State K1.5 million in prosecution expenses.

ZRA announced the conviction on Sunday alongside a second, unrelated enforcement action. On 18 September, officers intercepted a truck hauling a 40-foot container at the Kafue checkpoint — the consignment had entered through the Chirundu One Stop Border Post — and a physical inspection at the Makeni Yard found two brand-new Toyota Land Cruisers. Despite their condition, the vehicles were more than two years old by year of manufacture and had been incorrectly classified on declaration: more than K2.3 million was due against K192,000 actually paid, a revenue gap of about K2.1 million. Both vehicles have been seized under the Customs and Excise Act.

The pairing of the two cases in one statement is the message. The authority's corporate communications manager, Oliver Nzala, framed both as a defence of the compliant majority — smuggling and deliberate misdeclaration, he said, undercut businesses that follow the rules — and recited the enforcement toolkit: intelligence-led operations, risk-based inspections, post-clearance audits, prosecution. "Protecting public revenue supports domestic resource mobilisation and Zambia's development," he said. The timing is not incidental. The same weekend, Cabinet's Green Paper on the 2027–2029 budget committed the government to a new Medium-Term Revenue Strategy built on exactly this: stronger administration, a broader base, fewer leaky exemptions. A customs conviction and a budget framework are rarely the same story. This weekend, they were.

Sources: Zambia Monitor, "Avocado Mining reportedly convicted for attempted smuggling offense" (27 Sep 2026); ZRA statement issued by Oliver Nzala, Manager Corporate Communications (27 Sep 2026), via Mwebantu and ZNBC; Zambia Monitor on the 2027–2029 Green Paper (26 Sep 2026).