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Fungai Lupande Court Reporter
An ex-British soldier, who allegedly manufactured dangerous drugs including cocaine at his home, packaging them into capsules, yesterday appeared in court.

The suspected drug kingpin, James Francis Joscelyne (39), appeared before Harare magistrate Ms Nomsa Sabarauta facing charges of dealing in dangerous drugs.

Joscelyne was remanded in custody to August 8.

The prosecutor, Mr Sebastian Mutizirwa is alleging that the CID Drugs and Narcotics went to Joscelyne’s house at No. 9 Marion Close, Glen Lorne in Harare after receiving a tip-off that he was manufacturing drugs.

It is alleged that the house was searched and the police recovered two sachets containing whitish powder suspected to be cocaine in Joscelyne’s bedroom.

The sachets weighed 8,5 grammes and have a street value of $640. They also recovered 43 green ecstasy tablets with a street value of $129.

Upon being quizzed, Joscelyne led the police into his kitchen, where a bowl containing ecstasy powder and several empty plastic packages were recovered.

It is alleged that his bedroom was searched again and the police recovered two drug processing machines, a single punch pill maker and dagga compressing machine.

The court heard that Joscelyne was also in possession of a micro crystalline cellulose used in pharmaceutical tablet making.

Green and pink food colourants for the pills were also found in the bedroom, as well as 300 empty capsules.

Joscelyne is a former British Army soldier attached to the Queen’s Regiment.

He retired in 2002 before moving to Zimbabwe.

He became the fourth person to appear in court this year for possession and dealing in cocaine.

A 32-year-old Beauty Mutashu was sentenced to eight years in prison for smuggling 3,8 kilogrammes of cocaine worth $304 000 into Zimbabwe from Brazil.

In March this year, Fungai Maguta (39), was sentenced to four years in prison for smuggling 274 grammes of cocaine worth about $22 000 into the country.

A South African woman Isaura Masinga (40), suspected of trafficking cocaine into Zimbabwe, is standing trial after ingested body pack “miraculously” disappeared.