A 29-YEAR-OLD Harare woman, Melanie Gutsire, yesterday escaped a jail term after she was convicted of illegally possessing Broncleer cough syrup, better known as ‘Bronco’.
BY SILENCE CHARUMBIRA
Provincial magistrate Tendai Mahwe, however, slapped Gutsire with a $300 fine for the offence and gave her up to the end of this month to pay the fine or risk imprisonment for a period of two months.
Sharon Mashavire presented that Gutsire was on Tuesday this week found in possession of 20 boxes of 50 bottles each of Broncleer at her Warren Park home.
The court heard Gutsire had no clearance from the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe for possession of the controlled drug.
The court heard police officers acted on a tip-off, resulting in them going to Gutsire’s house, where they found her in possession of the prohibited drug.
When the officers requested to search her car, Gutsire is said to have fled the scene for at least two hours before returning home whereupon police found 20 cases worth $2 510.
In mitigation, Gutsire asked the court to be lenient with her, saying she was a single parent with one child and had two other minor dependants. She also said she was taking care of her mother as well in the rural areas.
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However, Mahwe said the quantity of the drug found in her possession was too much.
“The scale is too much on the upper side,” Mahwe said.
