Byo woman in court for attempting to smuggle 19kg of banned drug

A BULAWAYO woman appeared in court charged with trying to smuggle 19kg of the banned appetite suppression drug ephedrine into the country.
Ennie Chamukondo (50) of 7515/1 Tshabalala in Bulawayo denied the charge of contravening section 3 of the Medicines and Allied Substances Control Act which prohibits the importation of ephedrine without an import permit from the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ). 
Ephedrine is commonly used to suppress appetite resulting in weight loss and enhances athletic performance.Harare magistrate Ms Anita Tshuma on Tuesday remanded Chamukondo to November 21 on US$500 bail.
Prosecutor Mr Tungamirai Chakurira told the court that on November 3 this year, police from CID drugs and narcotics section at Harare International Airport were at the arrivals lounge point of exit conducting routine searches on arrivals.
They stopped Chamukondo who had jetted in aboard Ethiopian Airways from an unknown destination. They took her to their offices at the airport and conducted a search in her presence.
Chamukondo allegedly had two travelling bags in which police detectives found a white substance they suspected to be ephedrine.
The substance was reportedly stashed in embroidery threads. Chamukondo was arrested and taken to Harare Central Police Station before preliminary tests were conducted on the white substance, the court was told. Tests confirmed the substance to be ephedrine that weighed 19kg.
The drugs were produced in court as exhibits and the State argued Chamukondo had no right to import ephedrine without a permit from MCAZ.