Suspected drug lord granted bail, as State sifts charges

SOCIALITE and alleged drug dealer Gary Bell has been released on bail, with his trial being scheduled for March 25.
Bell posted US$300 bail after the State revised the initial charges laid against him were changed from possession of drugs with intent to distribute to illegal possession of drugs.
Bell landed bail last Thursday under several conditions laid out by a Bulawayo regional magistrate Mr Mathew Mutiro.
Mr Mutiro granted him bail on condition he reports to the police three times a week, resides at his registered address, and remains within a 40-kilometre radius of the city.
Bell through his lawyer Mr Shepherd Chamunorwa of Calderwood, Bryce Hendrie, and Partners, argued that the new charges attract a lesser penalty of a fine or community service and therefore his continued incarceration was unwarranted.
The State also withdrew charges of possession of ecstasy, after it failed to produce the drugs.
Bell on his initial remand had strongly denied the charges, arguing that the drugs were planted on him.
Bell (42) of Burnside suburb, was apprehended by detectives from the Harare CID Drugs and Narcotics Section in an undercover operation.
Bell, who has remained in custody since his arrest, had applied for bail, arguing that his detention was unlawful and claiming that the drugs found in his possession had been planted on him.
He initially appeared before Bulawayo provincial magistrate Mr Shepherd Munjanja who ruled against granting bail, citing the severity of the charges and the high risk of absconding.
Presenting the State’s case, then prosecutor, Mr Dominic Moyo told the court that on February 14, at around 6 am, detectives in Harare received a tip-off alleging that Bell was dealing in cocaine at The Smokehouse, a popular Bulawayo nightclub.
Following surveillance, detectives arrested Bell at midnight on February 15 as he arrived at the venue in a silver Toyota double cab (registration AFX 2911).
Subsequent searches at Bell’s Burnside residence uncovered another sachet of a whitish substance hidden in a small blue jewellery box inside a built-in wardrobe in his bedroom.
Authorities allegedly also seized two digital weighing scales and several razor blades smeared with a similar substance.
Preliminary tests confirmed the seized substances were cocaine.
The recovered cocaine weighed about six grams with an estimated street value of US$480.
Mr Chamunorwa alleged that after Bell’s arrest, one of the officers commandeered his vehicle and drove it to his residence, where they searched without following proper legal procedures.
Bell’s lawyer maintains that the arrest was mishandled and vowed to challenge the case in court.