Officials, who are believed to have been working with Central Intelligence Organisation officers, said they were confiscating the newspaper because the publishers had not paid duty.
Zimbabwean newspapers no longer pay duty to the countrys tax collector after Finance Minister Tendai Biti made them exempt from the high rate that foreign newspapers entering Zimbabwe were forced to pay.
Sources from the newspaper said this was the second violation of the newspapers freedom to publish, after it ran stories deemed to be too critical of Zanu (PF).
About 2,000 copies were taken and this affected our readers last week, said an official at the ZimStar. It is not the first time our rights were violated. Early this month, some officials, whom we believe are state security agents, came to our offices and interrogated us wanting to know who the owner of the paper is, the official added.
The ZimStar is published in South Africa and owned by a consortium of business people there, some who are believed to be Zimbabwean. Zimra officials could not be reached for comment.
The alleged incident ironically comes a few days after the Zimbabwe Media Commission pledged to licence more players in the industry. In the last decade, several newspapers have been shut down through controversial legislation, while journalists have suffered harassment at the hands of government.
Post published in: News