Five individuals including four police officers have been accused of defrauding a Chinese national of $3,000.
The four police officers charged were Lawson Muchongwe, Perseverance Chisango, Fredrick Moyo and Weston Muzoriwa. An alleged accomplice, Primrose Tarumbiswa, was the first to appear in court and one suspect, Prosper Chimbumu, remains at large.
On May 9th, Tarumbiswa contacted the victim, Mr. Xie Haiyan, claiming she wanted to order items from China. They met up and Tarumbiswa invited Mr. Xie into her vehicle. Then the four police officers approached, accused Mr. Xie of illegal activities, and falsely claimed he was under arrest. They took him in their vehicle and demanded $20,000 for his release.
Mr. Xie only had $3,000 which he gave to the group. They then released him and Mr. Xie filed a police report at Harare Central Police Station.
The four police officers have now been charged with fraud and released on $50,000 bail each. The alleged accomplice, Tarumbiswa, had already appeared in court while one suspect remains at large.
