80 year old appears in court for drug trafficking

A man in his early 80s today appeared before Livingstone Magistrates Court Mumba for mention in a drug trafficking case.

Benson Ngombo of Saw Mills Township in Livingstone was arrested and charged for trafficking in 120 grams of cannabis.

Particulars of the offence are that on August 5, last year, the Drug Enforcement Commission, (DEC) Livingstone Regional Office got a tip from members of the public that they suspected Ngombo was trafficking in Cannabis.

The following day, Stanley Muyinda a DEC Investigations Officer in the company of two other DEC officers carried out an operation at Ngombo’s house around 03:00hr and found Ngombo and one other person identified as Lubinda fast asleep.

And state witness Paul Kamanga who was also in the company of Muyinda and Kaluba told the court that while they waited for Muyinda and Kaluba who were inside the house, they saw a brown sugar plastic bag being pushed out of the house through a gap between the wall and the roof.

Kamanga said he then picked up the plastic bag and took it to Muyinda and Kamanga who were still inside in the house.

The duo (Ngumbo and Lubinda) were then asked who had thrown the bag outside but they all expressed ignorance saying they did not know who the owner was.

The DEC officers then apprehended the duo and took them to Livingstone Central Police where they were later arrested and the suspected cannabis taken to the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) for examination.

When the results of the test were brought back, it was confirmed that the material in question was in fact cannabis.

Ngombo who understood the charge said he did not know about the cannabis which was contained in the plastic bag.

Magistrate Mumba adjourned the matter and reserved ruling for tomorrow, Friday January 15, 2010.

ZANIS