Cops 'steal' goods from accident scene

THREE officers based at Odzi Police Station appeared at the Mutare Magistrates' Court last Friday charged with stealing goods worth $8 000 from an accident scene.

The trio of Leo Makoni, Webster Makonese and Knight Kutambudza, however, denied the charge and told presiding magistate Poterai Gwezhira that the theft charges had been trumped up by colleagues at the police station to "fix" them.

Charges against the three are that on June 3 at Riverside Bridge in Odzi, they stole eight tonnes of rice and 264 litres of diesel from a haulage truck that had overturned.

The truck, belonging to Avan Trading, was carrying 30 tonnes of rice and other food stuffs.

It is the State case that the three attended the accident scene, loaded their alleged loot into a police Defender truck and hid it at one Bright Nhare's residence in Odzi.

They then allegedly sold some of the rice to the public and on June 5, they reportedly went to Nhare's residence where they collected the rice and disposed of it at an unknown place.

The police officers, who are on free bail, were remanded to September 12 for continuation of their defence case.