Five men from Harare have been apprehended for illegally possessing Starlink kits without the necessary licenses, with their court appearance scheduled for next Monday.
The suspects , Polite Jamba (28), Ngoni Mandiwo (29), Denver Ndebele (26), Tinotenda Vambe (26), and Lennin Mhiripiri (26) , were discovered by detectives during a raid initiated by a tip-off received on Saturday, November 2, 2024.
Investigations revealed that Mandiwo and Ndebele were allegedly selling two Starlink Gen 2 kits at Easy Walk Mall in the Central Business District, leading to their immediate arrest and confiscation of goods valued at US$900.
Concurrently, the other three suspects were approached by undercover detectives posing as potential customers, resulting in the seizure of one Starlink Mini kit worth US$450, bringing the total value of the seized items to US$1,350.
A police report indicates that all five individuals were escorted to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Highlands for further processing.
Meanwhile, the government has urged individuals who imported Starlink kits without authorization to regularize their status through licensed entities like Aura Group and TelOne.
These companies are authorized to resell Starlink services in Zimbabwe, which officially began its operations on September 7, 2024.
Starlink, a subsidiary of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, offers high-speed internet through its Low Earth Orbit satellite constellation.
The authorities are intensifying efforts to regulate the use of satellite internet services in the country, emphasizing compliance with licensing procedures to prevent illegal operations.
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