Zorena Jantze
TWO men who were on Saturday, 10 May 2025, busted in possession of 204 stones suspected to be unpolished diamonds have been identified as Petrus Tobias (48) and Epaphras Shikongo (55).
Deputy Commissioner Nicodemus Mbango, the head of the Regional Crime Investigation Division for the //Kharas Region, confirmed the court appearance of the two suspects at the Ariamsvlei mobile court. They were arrested over the past weekend, 10 May 2025, at the Ariamsvlei border for possession of 204 objects suspected to be unpolished diamonds while entering Namibia from South Africa.
Deputy Commissioner Mbango said that the two are charged with contravening the Diamond Act/possession of uncut diamonds.
The Commissioner added that the 204 suspected uncut diamonds confiscated are not, at this point, linked to the Namdia diamond heist in which diamonds worth a total of N$315 million were stolen in January 2025.
The case of Shikongo and Tobias was postponed to Wednesday, 13 May 2025, as there were allegedly no Oshiwambo interpreters at the Ariamsvlei mobile court.
The Ariamsvlei border has, over the past few months, become a conduit for diamond smugglers. On 18 April 2025, a 64-year-old Namibian pensioner was also nabbed at the Ariamsvlei border post for possession of 26 objects suspected to be unpolished diamonds, while another suspect, a 45-year-old man, was also busted in December 2024 at the same border post for possession of 33 stones suspected to be unpolished diamonds.
PICTURED: Ariamsvlei Border Post, picture for illustrative purposes only. Photo: Contributed
