Medicines worth US$500 000 was on Tuesday recovered by the
police from a warehouse in Waterfalls, Harare, with the Health ministry tags,
raising suspicion that the drugs could have been stolen from a State warehouse.
Three suspects, Clever Farayi, Tatenda Innocent Rutsate and
Graeme Munikwa were arrested and yesterday appeared before magistrate Rumbidzai
Mugwagwa. They were charged for unauthorised possession of drugs.
The three were each granted $100 bail and remanded to April
24 pending trial.
CID Drugs and Narcotics were tipped that TICC
Pharmaceuticals was distributing cheap and low quality medicines, giving rise
to suspicion that these were counterfeit, unregistered or stolen.
Investigations were carried out by a team of detectives in
the Prospect industrial area of Waterfalls.
The investigators identified themselves and instructed
Farayi and Rutsate to open the gate for routine inspections.
But the two resisted and the team had to forcibly open the
gate to gain entry.
After they forced entry, the detectives asked for licences
for the premises and were shown a wholesale dealer’s permit issued to Blessmore
Madhanzi in respect of the building near the main gate at the complex.
It is alleged the detectives inspected the whole complex
and discovered a backyard warehouse which had several medicines locked inside.
The detectives allegedly instructed Farayi and Rutsate to
open the warehouse and they obliged.
They entered the building where a huge consignment of drugs
was discovered. Munikwa was also found packing medicines inside the warehouse.
The trio, after failing to produce licences for storing the
medicines, implicated one Teddy Chindedza. They also revealed that Madhanzi was
only fronting for Chindedza.
The detectives further discovered that Chindedza’s pharmacy
licence was withdrawn by the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe after
breaching the conditions of licensing provisions.
The detectives are making a follow-up with the Health
ministry procurement directorate to investigate the pilferage of these
medicines and also to arrest Chindedza, who is still at large. Newsday
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