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By Staff Reporter

A 35-YEAR-OLD British pilot was arrested and fined in Zimbabwe this week for attempting to take 45 rounds of ammunition onto a London-bound flight, reports said

Brett Jason Hamilton, a pilot for British Airways, was arrested Tuesday after the X-ray machine at Harare International Airport detected the ammunition in his luggage.

He was brought before Harare Magistrate Faith Mushure on Thursday and fined $6 million (about US$60) under Zimbabwe's immigration and firearms laws, the Herald newspaper reported.

Prosecutor Relaxon Mandizvidza told the court that on Tuesday this week, Hamilton arrived at Harare International Airport headed for London in possession of 45 rounds of live ammunition in a bag.

He evaded the customs duty desk and did not declare anything.

Hamilton's lawyer argued in court that the pilot is a registered hunter in Britain, and that the ammunition was for hunting purposes only.

Bruce Beven Mujeyi, of Gollop and Blank Legal Practitioners, in mitigation, said the pilot was ignorant of Zimbabwean laws and he thought that the British firearms certificate he was carrying would be sufficient.

"The State is not in dispute that the ammunition is purely for hunting and my client is a hunter. He also did not waste the court’s time by pleading guilty to the charges," said Mujeyi.
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