Online Reporter
Danisa Masuku, danimasuku4455@gmail
A BULAWAYO woman who was arrested together with her husband for possessing an assortment of illegal drugs, including cocaine and cannabis, has been issued with a warrant of arrest after she failed to attend trial.
Lakin Lee Robinson’s husband, Darian-Lee Kevin Lloyd Jackson (31) is serving an effective four years for possession of drugs.
He was sentenced to six years imprisonment by Bulawayo regional magistrate Mr Mark Dzira, who then suspended two years on condition that Jackson is not convicted of the same offence within the next five years.
Lee Robinson of West Somerton suburb pleaded not guilty to the charge and was scheduled to appear in court for trial last week. She failed to attend the court session, prompting the State to apply for a warrant of arrest.
Her lawyer, Mr Dominic Moyo, told the court that Lee Robinson was not feeling well.
“Your worship, Lee Robinson is not feeling well, that is why she failed to attend the session,” he said.
The couple was arrested on July 13 last year following an operation by detectives from the CID Drugs and Narcotics Unit in Bulawayo’s Central Business District.
Prosecuting, Ms Hazel Ncube told the court that detectives received a tip-off that the couple was distributing cocaine and dagga in and around the city centre using a white vehicle.
“Acting on the information, detectives mounted surveillance in the CBD and identified the vehicle with the two accused persons inside,” said Ms Ncube.
Police approached the vehicle, identified themselves and conducted a search, recovering four sachets of cocaine weighing five grammes, 10 sachets of dagga, 10 sachets of cannabis gummies and three sachets of cannabis-laced sweets, hidden in various compartments.
Following their arrest, detectives conducted a further search at the couple’s residence, where they recovered a larger cache of drugs.
These included 41 sachets of dagga weighing 4,1 kilogrammes, five sachets of prepared dagga cigarettes, two 20-litre buckets filled with loose dagga as well as additional cannabis gummies and sweets. In total, police seized about nine kilogrammes of dagga and 3,6 grammes of cocaine.
The dagga’s estimated street value is about ZiG$240 000 while the cocaine street value is about ZiG$165 400.
Ms Ncube told the court that the accused packaged the drugs into edible forms, including confectionery laced with cannabis.
