Two Zimbabwean women in court
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Theresa Katongo DEC PRO
By Xavier Mulenga in Livingstone, Southern Province
A DRUG Enforcement Commission (DEC) investigations officer has told the magistrate court how he managed to apprehend two Zimbabwean women, who had been tempering with Barclays Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs).
This is in a case in which Ashley Sibanda, Caroline Chinengada and Godwin Wilson is charged with unauthorised access to critical data and theft contrary to the laws of Zambia.
On unknown dates in December, 2015 and February 2016, in Livingstone and Kalomo, the trio jointly and whilst acting together accessed critical data of ATMs from Barclays clients in Livingstone and Kalomo without lawful authority.
Testifying before Chief Resident Magistrate was DEC investigations officer Anderson Situmbeko said he was briefed by his supervisor about people scheming ATMs and stealimg money.
Mr Situmbeko said he was given the mandate to investigate the crime and shown photographs of the people suspected to be behind the crime.
“The third person had been apprehended by the Zambia Police in Livingstone but the two women had managed to escape the police drag net,” he said.
Zambia’s Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) Public Relations Officer (PRO) Theresa Katongo
“We were given a phone number which was believed to be used by the suspects with the help of the DEC contacts, we were able to establish the location of the suspects,” Mr Situmbeko said
He said the Commission received information that the two suspects were at a farm in Short Horn area in West of Lusaka.
Mr Situmbeko said an hour before midnight a team of officers raided the farm where implements that they were used in tempering with ATMs was recovered from the suspects.
“We introduced ourselves and informed the people on our mission and we served the owner of the house with a search warrant, we executed the search, during the search in the bags of the two women, implements suspected to have been used in the scheming of the ATMs were found,” he said.
In cross examination, he said had not brought any photographs of the accused and the search warrant.
He said no finger prints were not taken to ascertain, the finger prints on the seized gadgets.
National Prosecution Authority, Bob Mwewa represented DEC and KBF major (RTD) Isaac Masonga represented the three accused persons, trial continues.
