A Harare magistrate is scheduled to make a decision regarding the bail of five suspects who are alleged to have stolen diamonds valued at $31,000 from Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport. The suspects are still being held.
The defense said that the diamonds were acquired illegally by the buyer and owner, and that the police had applied the law selectively by failing to apprehend the officials who had authorized the diamond deal.
Four suspected collaborators, including 54-year-old Silas Chirume, an inspector of diamonds for the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ), are accused of stealing diamonds intended for a buyer in the United Arab Emirates.
It came to light on Monday during the investigating officer’s cross-examination that Erleen Gold Trading DMCC of Dubai had bought the diamonds without adhering to the correct bidding procedure.
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Among the defendants are Chirume, Edward Jacob Gunda (62), an assistant security manager at Anjin Investments; Maison Phiri (37), a diamond assessor for MMCZ; Steven Wahita (56), an Anjin Investments security supervisor; and Isaac Muripa (37), a police detective stationed at the airport.
Mr. Joseph Nemaisa and Mr. George Makonere, the defense attorneys, contended that Paolo Persico, acting on behalf of Erleen Gold Trading, purchased the diamonds without engaging in the required bidding procedure.
The attorneys conjectured that this was an instance of selective law enforcement and questioned why Kim Song and Lieutenant Colonel Tapfumaneyi Mhuka, who signed the packing list and release order, had not been taken into custody.
The defense team argued that since all of their clients were employed, they qualified for bond. The hearing for a bail decision was postponed by the court until today.
According to the charges, Anjin Investments (Pvt) Ltd prepared diamonds for shipment to Erleen Gold Trading in Dubai on April 17, somewhere around nine in the morning. Paolo Persico, representing Erleen Gold Trading, and staff from Anjin, MMCZ, as well as a member of the CID minerals, flora, and fauna unit, were present throughout the packaging. The defendants were a member of the group in charge of putting 100 packages into ten bags, each of which was sealed and placed inside a trunk.
