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Leonard Ncube and Quitani Tawanda Muposeki Chronicle Reporters
AN Air Zimbabwe employee has been arrested together with two workers from the National Handling Services (NHS) for allegedly conniving to steal $300 from passengers’ fares.The three – Hazel Mukarati, Edmore Matienga and Patience Sibanda, whose ages were not given, are stationed at the Victoria Falls International Airport and were on Wednesday taken to the police for questioning over the matter.
Matabeleland North police spokesperson, Inspector Siphiwe Makonese could not readily confirm the arrest but a police source said the three were assisting with investigations.
Mukarati, Matienga and Sibanda were not held in police custody and are likely to be taken to court today facing a charge of fraud, the police source said.
“Three suspects, one of them an employee at Air Zimbabwe who works at the airline’s office at Victoria Falls International Airport and two other accomplices who work for National Handling Services are being investigated for allegedly conniving to defraud Air Zimbabwe of $300. The money had been paid by passengers,” said the source.
The suspects would allegedly alter the passenger manifest, flight packet and other documents used for capturing details of passengers.
The matter came to light when another worker at NHS discovered that details of one passenger from a flight of 61 passengers had been deleted from the system. Some of the information had been altered by hand, according to the source.
“The whistle-blower alerted the company’s loss control office in Harare and a report was made to the police resulting in the three’s arrest,” said the police source.
Police are waiting to record a statement from the loss control officer who is in Harare before the trio can be taken to court.
Online Reporter