A 29-YEAR-OLD Mbare man, Owen Maunganidze, will rue the day he was found in possession of more than 11kg of dagga after he was slapped with a four-year effective jail term for possessing the prohibited drug.
CHARLES LAITON SENIOR COURT REPORTER
The dagga was recovered by detectives from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) drug section while conducting routine searches at suspected drug havens in Mbare high-density suburb.
The operation which led to the recovery of the contraband, at number A7 Block 13 Nenyere Flats, Mbare, was carried out on October 22 last year in the early hours of the morning.
The detectives, who were led to Maunganidze’s bedroom by her mother Jennifer Masore, recovered the drug stashed in a bag under the bed.
Maunganidze was convicted for the offence despite his plea of not guilty when he appeared before provincial magistrate Tsatsawani Ndava.
Part of the sentence read: “Accused is sentenced to five-years imprisonment of which one-year is suspended for five-years on condition that accused does not within that period commit any offence involving smoking, possession, cultivation or dealing in dangerous drugs for which upon conviction he is sentenced to a term of imprisonment without the option of a fine. The 11,165kg of dagga is hereby forfeited to the State for destruction by fire.”
Yesterday Maunganidze appeared before High Court judge Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo seeking bail pending appeal against sentence, but the matter was rolled over to Monday next week.
