happiness ChikwanhaZvikomborero Parafini
A Chinese man landed in the dock over the weekend for violating the Minerals Marketing Act.
He is being accused of illegally exporting samples of precious stones.
Zhong Ming was not asked to plead when he appeared before Harare magistrate Tafadzwa Miti.
Ming is an engineering designer at Semwa Dam in Marondera.
The court heard that on September 1, an informant, Colleta Machiwana, a security officer at the Civil Aviation Authority at the Robert Mugabe International Airport check point, scanned his bag.
It showed dense images which prompted Machiwana to physically search the bag.
The State alleges that Machiwana recovered three stones, which were taken to CID Minerals for further scrutiny.
When Ming was asked to produce documents, authorising him to export any stones out of Zimbabwe, he failed, leading to his arrest.
The stones were taken to the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe and it was established that the three were amethyst cluster, orange garnet cluster and labradorite.
Online Reporter