Socialite Kelsea a drug supplier, court told
A HARARE court has heard that socialite Kelsea Tafirenyika allegedly operated as a key distributor of dangerous prescription drugs and illicit substances, supplying them to various individuals, including members of her own family
Tafirenyika, 22, is jointly charged alongside her maternal uncle, Isaac Arab Jessub. The pair appeared before Harare regional magistrate Marehwanazvo Gofa and were remanded in custody for the continuation of their bail application tomorrow Friday.
Investigating officer Nivered Charuma testified that Tafirenyika was a central figure in the alleged drug network.
The court heard that on August 4, police received details indicating that Jessub was dealing in dangerous drugs.
“We carried out surveillance and observed him seated in the driver’s seat of a Mercedes-Benz repackaging items into two envelopes. We approached him, produced our police identity cards, and notified him of our intention to conduct a search for dangerous drugs,” Charuma told the court.
“He consented, and upon opening the envelopes, I observed that one khaki envelope contained three ampoules of morphine, while the other contained five ampoules of pethidine. The drugs were clearly labelled. We also recovered two empty boxes of morphine and pethidine, alongside two 100ml bottles of Broncleer concealed under the driver’s seat.
Upon arrest, Jessub was interrogated regarding the origin of the pharmaceuticals. He allegedly identified Tafirenyika—his sister’s daughter—as the primary supplier.
Outlining the background to Tafirenyika’s arrest, the State alleges that detectives acted on information that she was distributing pethidine from her residence.
On the same evening at around 8pm, CID Drugs and Narcotics detectives raided house number 4 Edgehill Close in Greystone Park, Harare.
Officers entered Tafirenyika’s bedroom and reportedly found her seated on the bed sorting through ampoules.
Detectives identified themselves and initially seized eight ampoules of Fresenius Pethidine, 10 ampoules of Verpat Pethidine, and seven 1ml ampoules of Fresenius Morphine Sulphate from the bed.
A further search of the room yielded an additional 72 ampoules of Verpat Pethidine, 64 ampoules of Fresenius Pethidine, and 43 ampoules of Morphine Sulphate stored inside bedroom drawers.
Detectives also searched Tafirenyika’s white Lamborghini (registration KELSEA) parked at the premises, recovering five cobs of dagga inside the driver’s armrest.
The bail hearing continues tomorrow Friday.