Online Reporter
WHEN two British citizens — Tihaise Darlin Elisha (19) and Taylor Tamara Simone (21) — boarded an Ethiopian Airways Flight ET 873 to Harare, they probably thought they were flying into a jungle that had a makeshift wooden pole barricade as a port of entry.
They might have thought they would saunter their way past the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport with their contraband.
But instead of pulling off a slick drug run, they ended up pulling off the dumbest airport stunt of the year.
The British pair arrived at the airport on May 1, 2025 weighed down not by culture shock or jet lag, but by four very suspiciously heavy suitcases. What was inside? Clothes? Souvenirs?
Nope!
Just 124 tightly packed bricks of dagga, weighing a staggering 66,9 kilogrammes.
That definitely is not a travel accessory by any stretch of the imagination.
Acting on a tip-off, detectives from CID Drugs and Narcotics were already lying in wait at the airport.
The two were flagged the moment they touched down. Their “look at us, totally not smuggling anything” behaviour did not help their cause.
Officers watched as they collected their bulky luggage from the carousel and made their way towards customs.
They did not get far.
Taken aside to the search bay, their grand plan unravelled in spectacular fashion.
Inside their red and brown bags, all properly tagged with their names, as if to make the detectives’ job easier, the officers uncovered the cannabis stash, meticulously hidden but not smart enough to avoid detection.
By the time the weighing scale stopped at 66,9kg, the game was well and truly up.
The street value of the narcotics was an eye-watering US$669 000.
Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) officials issued an exhibit seizure confirmation.
