Duo appears in court for illegal diamond deal

Two men appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs. Ethel Chichera on Tuesday, accused of attempting to sell diamonds without the required licence.

Stanley Zhanda (55) from Norton and Wellington Mukandiwa (42) from Mutare face charges of contravening the Special Stones Act for dealing in precious stones without valid authorisation.

Prosecutor Mrs. Oripar Sagandira told the court that on May 24, detectives from the Criminal Investigations Department's Minerals, Fauna, and Flora Unit (MFFU) in Harare acted on intelligence indicating that the two men possessed suspected diamonds and were attempting to sell them illegally.

Undercover detectives posing as potential buyers arranged a meeting with Zhanda and Mukandiwa at a bus stop located at the corner of Robson Manyika Avenue and Kenneth Kaunda Street in Harare. Upon arrival, the accused entered the detectives' vehicle, where Zhanda allegedly produced a white paper bundle from his jeans pocket containing three stones suspected to be diamonds.

As the transaction proceeded, CID officers monitoring the operation moved in, identifying themselves and seizing the stones. When asked to produce valid licences authorising possession and sale of precious stones, the two men failed to provide the necessary documentation and were arrested immediately.

The suspects and the recovered diamonds were taken to the CID Minerals, Fauna and Flora Unit offices for further investigations. Both men were remanded in custody pending a bail hearing.