Trusting forwarder faces drugs charge after signing certificate of origin

A GAUTENG FREIGHT forwarder is facing court proceedings after signing a certificate of origin document for a 'client' who cannot now be traced, and whose containerised shipment documented as 'shirts' was found to be filled with drugs. It's the type of scenario which the Johannesburg Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry sees far too often when forwarders ignore the seriousness of signing these certificates on behalf of clients, says Tish Schutte, the Chamber's head of international trade. In the case in question the exporter called on the forwarder and paid cash up front for the container to be sent to an overseas destination. The forwarder was left to complete all documentation, and signed the certificate of origin which stated the contents to be 'shirts'. When police investigated the matter after receiving a full report from the customs officials at the country of destination - where the container's contents were revealed - they discovered the exporter to be a name only, with a registered company which had no foundations, and fictitious operators and address. The document, however, had been signed by the forwarder who had acted purely on trust, accepting the word of the client regarding the contents and subsequently putting through all the necessary documents. He, in turn, was held fully liable and was arrested at his business premises. The matter is still under investigation. "It all goes back to the simple fact that the documentation should always be completed and signed by the exporter," says Schutte. "There is seldom an instance where the forwarder really sees the contents of a container he is handling, yet he will take the matter on trust and that is often his undoing. He faces the wrath of the law for the misdeeds of others."