Online Reporter
Yeukai Karengezeka
Court Correspondent
TWO men appeared in court on Tuesday accused of attempting to sell diamonds without the requisite licence.
Stanley Zhanda (55) of Norton and Wellington Mukandiwa (42) of Mutare were charged with contravening the Special Stones Act for dealing in precious stones without a licence.
They appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Ethel Chichera and were remanded in custody pending a bail hearing.
Prosecutor Mrs Oripar Sagandira told the court that on May 24, detectives from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Minerals, Fauna, and Flora Unit (MFFU) in Harare received intelligence that the two men were in possession of suspected diamonds and were attempting to sell them illegally.
Acting on this information, the detectives set a trap. They posed as potential buyers and arranged to meet the accused at a bus stop, at the corner of Robson Manyika Avenue and Kenneth Kaunda Street in Harare.
When the two accused arrived at the agreed location, they entered the car of undercover detectives posing as buyers.
During the meeting, Zhanda allegedly removed a white paper bundle from the right pocket of his jeans.
The bundle contained three stones, suspected to be diamonds, which he handed to the undercover detective.
As the transaction unfolded, a team of CID detectives monitoring the operation immediately moved in.
They approached the vehicle, identified themselves as law enforcement officers and recovered the diamonds.
The detectives demanded that the accused produce a valid licence authorising them to possess and deal in precious stones.
When the two failed to provide the required documentation, they were arrested on the spot.
Both the suspects and the recovered stones were taken to the CID Minerals, Flora and Fauna Unit offices in Harare for further investigations.
