Online Reporter
Trish Mukwazo, [email protected]
A 30-year-old man from Woodlands, Ishamael Dandadzi, appeared Bulawayo magistrate Mr Maxwell Ncube on Thursday, charged with possession of dangerous drugs at a Bulawayo hotel.
Dandadzi was arrested after detectives from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) received a tip-off that he had illicit drugs in his possession.
Mr Maxwell Ncube remanded him in custody to March 18 for bail consideration.
Prosecutor Ms Mufaro Ndirayire stated that on March 11 at around 10 pm, detectives from CID Drugs, who were on duty, received information that he was in possession of dagga and other drugs at the hotel.
“The police detectives acted on the information and proceeded to the hotel, where they identified the accused person’s Honda Fit, registration number AFV 0320. They attempted to stop the vehicle, and the accused drove along Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Street and turned right onto 13th Avenue,” said Ms Ndirayire.
The court heard that the car was followed, and the accused stopped his vehicle at Ascot, where a search was conducted.
“During the search, the police recovered 445 grams of dagga, 37 bottles of 100 millilitres of Benylin with codeine inside a black box bag, six bottles of Broncleer cough syrup, and two half-bottles of Broncleer cough syrup,” Ms Ndirayire stated.
The police also recovered six bottles of Adco-Salterpyn cough syrup and four half-bottles containing the same syrup inside a green metal box in Dandadzi’s car.
The recovered dagga was weighed at Bulawayo Main Post Office in the presence of the accused and had a total weight of 445 grams, with a street value of ZiG13 350,00, and unregistered medicines with a street value of ZiG7 020.
“The accused person had no right to possess dagga and unregistered medicines without a licence or permit,” said Ms Ndirayire.
In a separate case, a 22-year-old man, Simbarashe Matsvimbo, appeared in court on Tuesday, facing allegations of physically abusing his 71-year-old grandmother after she denied him access to her car.
Matsvimbo, from Kensington in Bulawayo, appeared before the same magistrate, charged with physically abusing Ester Matsvimbo. He denied the allegations and is scheduled to reappear in court on 25 March. The victim sustained bruises on her body.
According to Ms Ndirayire, Simbarashe committed the offence on March 7 at approximately 5pm after his grandmother refused to let him use her car, prompting her to lock their gate.
“The accused became angry and assaulted the complainant using his open hands on her chest and neck several times, and also bit her on her right hand,” she said.
