Chronicle Editor
Peter Matika
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A Bulawayo socialite, who appeared in court on Monday on charges of illegal drug possession, has been remanded in custody, with a bail ruling set for Friday.
Gary Bell, 42, from Bulawayo’s leafy Burnside suburb, was dramatically arrested by police detectives outside a posh leisure centre last Saturday, following a crackdown operation.
Prosecuting, Miss Brenda Nyoni told the court that on Valentine’s Day, at around 6 AM, detectives from CID Drugs and Narcotics in Harare received information indicating that Bell was dealing in cocaine at the Smoke House.
Miss Nyoni said the detectives, armed with this information, proceeded to effect an arrest on Bell on 15 February at midnight, after surveilling him.
“The accused later showed up at the bar, driving a silver Toyota double cab with registration number AFX 2911. Detectives then approached the accused, who had disembarked from his vehicle, introduced themselves as detectives from CID Drugs Harare, and explained their mission to him,” said Miss Nyoni.
She said a search was conducted on Bell, leading to the seizure of one large plastic sachet containing four smaller plastic sachets with a whitish substance suspected to be cocaine.
“The detectives also seized one plastic sachet containing five blue tablets suspected to be ecstasy tablets from the accused’s trousers pocket. The accused was then taken to his vehicle, where two more plastic sachets containing a whitish substance suspected to be cocaine were recovered from the driver’s left-side tray,” said Miss Nyoni.
She added that Bell led detectives to his residence, where further searches were carried out, resulting in the seizure of a plastic sachet containing a whitish substance suspected to be cocaine in a small blue jewellery box inside a built-in wardrobe in his bedroom. Two digital weighing scales and several razor blades smeared with a whitish substance suspected to be cocaine were also recovered.
Miss Nyoni stated that Bell was subsequently arrested and escorted to CID Drugs in Bulawayo for further processing.
Preliminary tests conducted on the seized substances in Bell’s presence confirmed that they tested positive for cocaine and ecstasy.
“The recovered cocaine weighed approximately 6 grams, with an estimated street value of US$480. The street value of the recovered ecstasy tablets is US$60,” said Miss Nyoni.
However, Bell has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, insisting that the drugs were planted on him during what he described as an unlawful arrest.
His lawyer, Mr Shepherd Chamunorwa from Calderwood, Bryce Hendrie and Partners, echoed these sentiments in court, arguing that the arrest lacked proper legal procedure.
Bell was arrested outside a popular night spot in the early hours of Saturday morning.
In his submissions, presented by Mr Chamunorwa, Bell argued that the drugs were planted on him and claimed that the arrest was illegal and unconstitutional.
“The accused person’s challenge to remand and complaint are intertwined. The arrest on 15 February at the drinking establishment known as The Smoke House, and the time of his arrest, raise questions as he was inebriated. He had been drinking alcohol from the afternoon until midnight when he decided to leave. As he was leaving, he was surrounded by police officers who had blocked the vehicle he was using,” said Mr Chamunorwa.
He continued, stating that when Bell was arrested, one of the officers commandeered his vehicle and drove it to his residence after the police purportedly processed him.
“…they performed a search and seizure on him and his vehicle. He did not consent to this. The police did not have a warrant to search his vehicle, and he advised them that he wanted to engage legal counsel, which they denied until the police told him they had recovered drugs from his vehicle,” said Mr Chamunorwa, asserting that Bell was unaware of the alleged drugs.
Mr Chamunorwa alleged that the drugs were planted on Bell before the police drove him to his residence, where they also conducted a search.
“…without consent or a search warrant, they purported to search and recover drugs that he had no knowledge of, which had been planted. He did not direct the police to his house, as they already knew the location. They then drove to his parents’ home and searched there as well,” Mr Chamunorwa said.
He alleged that the police forcibly made Bell sign a document while he was in a drunken stupor and had no memory or knowledge of the contents and that he had not been shown the document by his lawyers.
“He was denied the opportunity to call his legal counsel until 3:18 AM, which was a missed call. Again, he tried to call, and two missed calls were recorded at 3:23 AM. This is a violation of his constitutional rights, and the police fabricated facts to justify his remand,” said Mr Chamunorwa.
He also went on to challenge the confiscation of Bell’s two mobile phones without a warrant or his consent.
According to Mr Chamunorwa, the police were required, by law, to procure and present a warrant to seize the phones.
The case is being presided over by Bulawayo magistrate, Mr Maxwell Ncube.
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