BREAKING: Fired CIO arrested

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Central Intelligence Organisation security operative, Steven Tserayi, linked to Henrietta Rushwaya for trying to smuggle 6.09kg of gold to Dubai has been arrested.

The arrest came just few hours after being fired from his job.

Tserayi’s arrest came along with three other apprehensions of those implicated in the deal.

The three include Ali Mohammed of the car dealership Ali Japan 786, whom Rushwaya allegedly fingered as the source of the four gold bars found in her luggage, plus another security services officer, Rafius Mupandauya, who may have been involved in the attempt to get Rushwaya through the security checks with her gold.

The third to be arrested is Gift Karanda who national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi last night said, when confirming the four arrests, had allegedly lied that he was a member of the Central Intelligence Organisation after he went to the airport to assist Rushwaya.

As more details of the alleged attempt to smuggle the gold, worth US$333 000, out of the country emerge, prosecutors yesterday applied to withdraw their consent for bail for Rushwaya. They had previously agreed to $90 000 plus the surety of the title deeds to her lawyer’s Borrowdale property.

She remains in custody until Friday when the Harare Magistrates Court will rule whether the State can withdraw its earlier consent and if so whether Rushwaya can still be admitted to bail, and if so under what conditions.

Meanwhile, when Rushwaya’s case was heard in court this afternoon, it came out that she was a member of a syndicate, as evidenced by how the attempted smuggling was planned.