Online Reporter
Prosper Dembedza
Herald Correspondent
A SUSPECTED drug dealer who had been on the run following the arrest of his wife in a major drug bust in Harare has been arrested and appeared in court.
Nomore Chabata (47) of Marimba appeared before the Harare Magistrates Court on Saturday facing charges of unlawful dealing in dangerous drugs and possession of explosives without a permit.
He was remanded in custody to Tuesday for a bail ruling.
Chabata’s arrest follows a police raid at his Marimba residence last month, which led to the arrest of his wife, Catherine Chembe, who is facing similar charges.
The State alleges that on May 8, 2026, police received information that occupants of a house in Marimba were involved in drug dealing.
Acting on the tip-off, officers raided the premises and arrested Chembe after recovering 10 kilogrammes of loose dagga from a guest room.
Further searches led to the recovery of 100 bottles of Benylin containing codeine from the main house.
During questioning, Chembe allegedly implicated Chabata as her accomplice and co-owner of the property.
She also led police to a cottage on the premises, where another suspect, Loveness Phiri, was found packaging dagga into sachets.
Police recovered a further 34,140 kilogrammes of loose dagga, 26,243 kilogrammes of dagga seeds and plant material, as well as large quantities of codeine-based cough syrups, including Benylin, BronCleer and Astra Pain.
Officers also seized 1 300 packaging plastics, a heat sealer, a digital scale and record books allegedly used to track drug sales.
In addition, police recovered 91 Emex 70 emulsion explosives and 58 capped fuse detonators from the premises.
Following the raid, Chabata went into hiding before being arrested on Friday by a police anti-drug unit.
