HARARE, Mar. 12 (NewsDay Live) - Three men appeared before Harare magistrate Rufaro Panavanhu facing allegations of possession of 12 tonnes of dagga and liquor without licences.
Lloyd Matamba (35), Michael Alfaneta (40) and Justice Mahope (42) were remanded in custody to Thursday March 13 for bail ruling.
It is alleged that on March 9, 2025, detectives from CID Drugs and Narcotics Harare received information that Matamba, who is a salesmen at the premises in Masasa area in the capital, was involved in drug use.
Detectives proceeded to the said address, where they conducted surveillance.
According to court papers, while at premises, the detectives approached the accused persons at Bay 8 of a warehouse whose door was open and identified themselves.
They informed the accused persons about their mission and requested to conduct a search at the premises.
The accused person consented to the search.
The accused were further interviewed about the availability of the dagga at the premise.
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Magamba implicated Alfaneta, who in turn implicated Mahope, who pointed fingers to liquor delivery firms Ameyang Holdings and Wild Gherkin.
Mahope did not provide full details so the police could check if the companies indeed existed.
The detectives conducted a search at the premises and discovered various stocks of liquor brands covering part of the whole floor in the room.
The accused were requested to produce a liquor Iicence for the said premise, but they failed.
The court heard that searches were further conducted in the warehouses, leading to the discovery of 12 tonne sacks of loose dagga hidden behind numerous stalks of dried dagga plants.
Further searches were conducted, leading to the seizure of 30 polythene plastics of loose dagga.
The accused persons failed to produce a valid licence or permit to justify the sale of liquor and the unlawful possession of the dagga at their premises.
They were instantly arrested and the exhibits seized before being taken to CID Drugs and Narcotics Harare office.
A preliminary field test was carried out on the seized drugs in the presence of the accused person and it tested positive to tetrahydrocannibol (THC).
The seized dagga weighed 4 580kgs with a street value of the US$549 000.
The value of the liquor is approximately US$50 000.
