Bogus CID officers in court

Prosper Dembedza Herald Correspondent

TWO Harare men have appeared in court on allegations of masquerading as police officers from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to engage in fraudulent activities.

Innocent Chimutsi (44) and Tawanda Marabada (36) were facing two counts of impersonation when they appeared before Harare magistrate Mr Dennis Mangosi yesterday.

They were remanded out of custody to April 4 on US$100 bail each.

It is the State’s case that sometime in January 2024, Mr Andsen Patson saw an advertisement on Facebook in which the duo was claiming to facilitate Certificates of Sponsorship (COS) for people seeking employment in the United Kingdom.

Mr Patson responded to the advert since he wanted a COS for his wife who wanted to travel abroad.

The court heard that the duo charged Mr Patson 5 500 British pounds and a deposit of 4 000 pounds was made through Mr Patson’s uncle who is based in the United Kingdom.

The parties agreed to pay the balance upon receipt of the COS. After the money transfer, Mr Patson received an offer letter via WhatsApp account number +447400352877 and a COS.

During the application for a British visa, Mr Patson discovered that the COS was fake and failed to contact the accused persons. The court heard that Mr Patson never made a police report after he noticed that he had been duped and tried continuously to contact Chimutsi and Marabada.

On February 20, Chimutsi contacted Mr Patson using the same Facebook account and indicated that he was a police detective.

Chimutsi allegedly misrepresented that he was investigating the matter. However, Mr Patson became suspicious since he never made a police report.

Mr Patson sought advice from officers at Harare Central Police Station who told him to contact Chimutsi in their presence. Chimutsi demanded US$100 for fuel to go and recover the money and 500 pounds upon recovery of the money.

A trap was laid leading to Chimutsi’s arrest in the city centre. He was in the company of Marabada who was also masquerading as a police detective.