By Tinashe Mungazi
A Victoria Falls drug peddler who was nabbed with 481kg of mbanje worth more than $48 million on the black market has been slapped with a 10 year jail term.
Patricia Ncube aged 49 years of Mkhosana in Victoria Falls was arrested sometime in April following a raid by police detectives who recovered 14x50kg bags of cannabis (mbanje) stashed in her house.
She was denied the charge of unlawful possession of dagga when she appeared before a Victoria Falls magistrate before she was arraigned before Regional magistrate, Collet Ncube.
He, however, convicted her following a trial, sentencing her to 10 years imprisonment before conditionally suspending 3 years. Ncube who was represented by Givemore Mvhiringi of Mvhiringi and Partners denied the charges arguing that the haul was not hers and had been planted.
State prosecutor, Charlene Gorerino told the court that on 28 April detectives acting on a tipoff pounced on Ncube’s residence. Upon searching the her house they recovered mbanje packed in 50kg sacks and plastic bags.
They also found twists of the illegal drug stashed inside a container. The drug haul weighed a whooping 481kg with a street market value of more $48.1 million. She was subsequently arrested while the recovered merchandise was forfeited to the state.
