Chinese coccaine dealers found guilty, escapes jail with US$150 fine
HARARE, Zimbabwe – Nine Chinese nationals who were caught red-handed sniffing cocaine at a Harare lodge were found guilty by a Harare Magistrates Court but escaped jail with US$150 fine each — a penalty frowned upon by many who feel its not enough to send a clear message against drugs and substance abuse.
Harare Magistrate, Vakayi Chikwekwe, convicted the group of possessing dangerous drugs but ruled that the quantity of cocaine recovered was “insignificant.”
Chikwekwe says a harsher sentence would be improper.
The group — Yu Hefeng, Dong Yunmei, Yang Wanwan, Wu Yuejun, Yang Qin, Fang Yue, Sun Jie, Yao Wenming and Li Zhongju — were arrested after detectives swooped on a house at 60 Knightsbridge Road, Newlands, on September 2.
Inside, police found the men taking turns to sniff cocaine off a wooden tray, using a golden playing card to cut the white powder. Detectives seized the tray, the card, and sachets of cocaine from a Louis Vuitton handbag belonging to another Chinese national, Huang Zhen, who is alleged to be the ringleader.
Prosecutors told the court that officers also recovered benzodiazepam and crystal meth, with the drugs valued at more than US$1,000.
While Zhen remains in custody after being denied bail, his colleagues walked free after paying fines that many critics see as trivial in the face of Zimbabwe’s escalating drug crisis.
The case has ignited debate over whether the justice system is treating drug offences with the seriousness they deserve — especially as cocaine and crystal meth continue to devastate young lives across the country.
