375 kilos of coltan seized before reaching the hands of Mrs Jeannette Kagame ( the wife of President Kagame) who is involved in clandestine smuggling of minerals from RD Congo to Rwanda
Congo seizes 375 kilos of coltan being smuggled to Rwanda
Customs officers in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have seized 375 kilograms of coltan, a precious mineral used in electronics, en route to Rwanda, an official in Kinshasa said on Saturday.
The seizure was made Thursday at the "Great Barrier" border crossing, said the minister of mines in North Kivu province, Jean Ruyange.
Officers stopped a jeep headed towards Gisenyi, across the border in Rwanda, because their suspicions were raised on seeing that the tires were depressed even though no cargo was visible.
The following day "they noticed unusual work around the chassis, removed a metal plate and found a quantity of coltan, around 375 kilos (825 pounds)," Ruyange added.
The metallic ore is used in electronic devices such as mobile phones and laptops.
Ruyange said the driver was taken away for questioning and an investigation was under way to determine the origin of the ore and whether other shipments have already crossed the border.
In November 2011, Rwanda returned to the DR Congo more than 80 tonnes of cassiterite, coltan and wolframite that had been smuggled out of North Kivu.
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