The Attorney-General’s office (AG) on Friday withdrew charges against a local company director facing allegations of conspiracy to commit robbery in a case where Savanna Holdings lost tobacco consignments worth over R5 million to hijackers in South Africa between May and August. REPORT BY CHARLES LAITON SENIOR COURT REPORTER
Ticoz Protection Services director Hosea Manzunzu was released after a night behind bars.
But his co-directors Tarwireyi Tirivavi and Tinashe Cosygene Dekeya remained in custody after Harare magistrate Anita Tshuma dismissed an application challenging their placement on remand.
They were remanded to January 4 and advised to apply for bail at the High Court.
According to the State, the directors allegedly acted in connivance with their employee Edmore Muronzereyi, who is still at large, after tasking him to collect details of vehicles leaving and entering Savanna Holdings.
The information was allegedly conveyed to robbers who waylaid the trucks in South Africa between May and August.
The State alleges Tirivavi and Dekeya were at one point employees of a local firm, Forest Security, a company once contracted by a South African firm, Forensic Security to carry out surveillances on all the country’s tobacco manufacturing firms.
It is alleged the two men later resigned and formed Ticoz Protection Services which was then contracted by Forensic Security in April this year to carry out surveillance on the tobacco manufacturing firms.
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It is further alleged that another South African firm, Tobacco Institute of South Africa, contracted Forensic Security to monitor and suppress suppliers of locally-manufactured cigarettes in the Sadc region to promote British American Tobacco (BAT) products.
According to the State, Ticoz would offer information on tobacco consignments from local firms being exported to the region and send it to Forensic Security in South Africa, where robberies would be executed.
During the period in question, Savanna Holdings trucks were reportedly robbed of cigarettes worth R5 763 988 while in South Africa.
However, the syndicate was bust on September 26 by a Savanna security officer Farai Mugari, who arrested Muronzereyi after he was seen recording registration numbers of trucks leaving and entering the company’s premises.
After interrogation, Muronzereyi indicated he was employed by Ticoz and had been instructed to record details of trucks by his employer.
Manzunzu was represented by Charles Chinyama, while the other two were represented by Shingi Mutumbwa.
