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Prosper Dembedza

Court Correspondent

FOUR police officers yesterday appeared in court for allegedly stealing firearms from the National Armaments at Morris Depot.

Liberty Musindo (36), Innocent Dube (44), Davison Makaza (25) and Tawabarira Marowa (34) were charged with theft when they appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Barbra Mateko.

They were freed on $3 000 bail each and ordered to report every Friday at their nearest police stations and to continue residing at their given addresses.

The court heard that on an unknown date to the State during the period extending from April to June 19, 2020, Musindo who is stationed at the national armaments connived with Dube and Marowa who are also police officers and also in the company of three others namely, Charles Mabhiza, Nhawu Jongwe and Wellington Nata who have since appeared in court for stealing firearms from the National Armaments.

It is the State’s case that the syndicate on different occasions stole firearms from their workplace.

The court heard that Makaza would receive the stolen firearms secretly, take them into the workshop at his workplace where he would alter the original serial numbers of the stolen firearms and replace them with fictitious serial numbers in order to disguise the origin of the firearms before returning them to Dube and Marowa.

It is alleged that Dube and Marowa would then collect the stolen firearms with erased serial numbers from Makaza and source for potential buyers and share the proceeds.

It is the State’s case that on June 19 the officer-in-charge national armaments, Chief Inspector Madenyika, discovered that some pistols were missing from the armoury and carried out a stocktake during which he discovered that four CZ pistols including, a Tokarev pistol inscribed ZRP 096, were missing.

The court heard that investigations were carried out leading to the arrest of Mabhiza and subsequent recovery of two CZ pistols.

It is alleged that further investigations led to the arrest of the other three accused persons.

The total value of the guns stolen was US$5 000.