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Prosper Dembedza
Court Correspondent
Three suspected drug dealers appeared in court yesterday after they were caught with 230 grammes of cocaine valued at nearly $2 million.
Patience Murinda (23), Siegfried Zibusiso Ndlovu (33) and Karoline Silva Mafra (23) are facing charges of contravening the dangerous drugs act and they appeared before Harare Magistrate Mrs Babra Mateko.
They were advised to apply for bail at the High Court.
Allegations are that on April 1, authorities received information that Mafra was coming to Zimbabwe from Brazil with cocaine aboard an Ethiopian Airways flight and was expected to arrive at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport the following day.
Acting on the information, detectives from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Drugs, Narcotics and Canine section in Harare, went to the airport where they intercepted Mafra.
The court heard that Murinda and Ndlovu arrived at the airport driving a BMW vehicle to pick Mafra and were subsequently arrested.
They were interviewed and it was established that they were acting on instruction from one Nigerian called “Boby” who had instructed them to receive Mafra and accompany her to Graceland Guest House in Marlborough, Harare where she was booked and was supposed to give “Boby” the drugs.
After interrogation, Murinda and Ndlovu led detectives to their residence where they recovered seven fabric samples from a bedroom which was packed in a plastic bag.
The State alleges that in between the fabric and plastic was a white substance suspected to be cocaine.
Preliminary field tests were done on the powder and tested positive for cocaine.
Online Reporter