Five individuals, including two police officers, a retired officer, and their two accomplices, who were in court earlier this week were brought to court on Friday on fresh charges of robbery in Zimbabwe. They were initially arraigned before the courts for pretending to be from the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), according to The Herald.
The accused, Tinashe Mhere, Peter Maodzeka, Nyasha Ndumo, Luckmore Makwara, and Raymond Banda appeared before a regional magistrate who denied them bail. Mhere, Banda, and Maodzeka were involved in a vehicle sale transaction where Mhere sold a Toyota Fortuner to Jason Mufanebadza and later sent his accomplices to extort money from him on the pretext that he had bought a stolen vehicle.
On September 25, the accused, pretending to be detectives from the Vehicle Theft Squad, arrived at Mufanebadza’s home in an unmarked vehicle. Maodzeka, armed with a pistol, handcuffed Mufanebadza and assaulted him with a baton in front of his family.
They then drove off, demanding cash from Mufanebadza and eventually taking $3,000 from him. They later dumped him along Simon Mazorodze Road, Ardbennie, in Harare and were arrested two days later while trying to sell the stolen vehicle.
The stolen car was recovered, and a total of $12,620 worth of items were stolen, with $9,500 worth of cash and goods recovered so far. The accused individuals will remain in custody until their next court appearance on October 24.