Man arrested in Penhalonga with 139 sachets of dagga and meth crystals
Zimbabwe Republic Police arrested 27-year-old Lancelot Nehanda at a checkpoint at the St Augustine's Turn-off in Penhalonga on 5 November 2026 after officers searched a Honda Fit and found 139 small sachets of dagga and two crystals of methamphetamine. The police's own account of the arrest mentions only 141 sachets of crystal methamphetamine.
🇿🇼 St Augustine's Turn-off, Penhalonga, Mutare district, Manicaland · Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe Republic Police arrested 27-year-old Lancelot Nehanda at the St
Augustine’s Turn-off in Penhalonga on 5 November 2026 for unlawful possession of
dangerous drugs.[1]Nehanda was a passenger in a Honda Fit travelling from
Mutare towards Penhalonga that officers intercepted at about 2am after a tip-off
that a passenger was carrying dangerous drugs.[2]
National police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the team searched the
vehicle and recovered 139 small sachets of dagga, the local name for cannabis,
and two big crystals of methamphetamine from Nehanda.[2]The drugs were all in
a black plastic bag, and Nehanda was arrested pending further investigation.[2]
The police’s own account of the arrest describes only the methamphetamine,
saying a black plastic bag with 141 sachets of crystal methamphetamine belonged
to the suspect.[1]A second outlet reported that Nehanda faces charges of
unlawful possession of dangerous drugs and that police recovered the sachets
from the vehicle in which he was travelling.[3]
The Herald’s account names the driver as 24-year-old Jetro Matiafa of Muchena
Village under Chief Mutasa, and says the Honda Fit carried registration number
ADT 9825.[2]
Photos and video
Sachets of dagga and crystals of methamphetamine laid out after the seizure at the St Augustine's Turn-off in Penhalonga. Photo: The Manica PostPhoto details
The dagga was described only as 139 small sachets, with no weight, so no kilogram or plant figure is recorded for the cannabis.
The police's own account of the arrest gives 141 sachets of crystal methamphetamine and does not mention dagga, while The Herald quotes the national spokesperson as reporting 139 sachets of dagga and two crystals of methamphetamine.
No charge, court date or outcome was reported; Nehanda was arrested pending further investigation.
The accounts do not say whether the driver, named in The Herald's account as the 24-year-old Jetro Matiafa, was detained or released.
The Herald's account is The Manica Post's report and both rest on the national police spokesperson's statement, so the dagga detail has no independent confirmation.
Police arrested a couple at the 288-km peg on the Harare-Chirundu Road after finding 10 parcels of compressed dagga in their truck. The pair, aged 33 and 44, face allegations of unlawful possession; police gave no weight for the seizure.
Police in Chimanimani arrested a 73-year-old and a 38-year-old on 26 October 2026 after finding 770 dagga plants growing among maize in Ruwaka Village. Processed dagga was also recovered; both face unlawful cultivation charges.
Zimbabwe Republic Police arrested three men, one of them a foreign national, at the 60-kilometre peg on the Beitbridge–Bulawayo road in Matabeleland South and said they found 120,244 kilograms of dagga in the back of their pick-up. They face drug trafficking allegations; no court date was reported.
Zimbabwe Republic Police stopped a Toyota Hilux near Bubi on the Harare–Beitbridge Road and arrested Norest Jingura, 35, dressed in police uniform, and Alison Maredza, 43, whom a police memo identifies as a Zimbabwe National Army Presidential Guard corporal. Police reported 120 cobs of dagga weighing about 600 kg in total and valued at US$96,000 on the street.
