Zimbabwe: Fake Maize Seed Scam Bust

A 31-year-old Karoi woman was arrested on allegations of packaging fake maize seed in 25kg Seed-Co labelled pockets for resale to unsuspecting customers.

The woman, Locadia Chinzodzi was arrested for fraud in Karoi last week while her accomplice Juda Mutimutema (age not given) has since disappeared. Police have since recovered various fake maize seed, various colouring paint, maize and empty Seed-Co labelled pockets.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrests and said investigations were still in progress.

“The ZRP confirms the arrest of Locadia Chinzodzi aged 31 for fraud in Karoi on September, 15, 2021. The suspect together with Juda Mutimutema who is still at large packaged fake maize seed in 25kg Seed-Co labelled pockets.

“Police recovered fake maize seed which includes 9x25kg 727 (Seed-Co), 2x25kg 719 (Seed-Co), 125kg of maize applied with green pigment paint (colouring), 722 (Seed-Co) certification labels, 7xk2 certification labels, 4x50kg bags of white maize, 57 stickers of hybrid maize seed PGS 65, 47x25kg K2 empty pockets, a 30ml stamp pad ink-blue, 9x200ml ICC universal paint colourant (green), 2x25ml Newden Universal Tinder (green), 1x100ml pigment paints unipaste tinters (green), 25kgx67 (Seed-Co) empty pockets and 6x2kg (Seed-Co) empty pockets,” he said.

The suspect will appear in court soon while a manhunt has been launched for her accomplice who is still at large. The seed industry recently said Government must impose custodial sentences on fake seed dealers to curb the illegal practice.

Speaking at a recent Rattray Arnold Research Station tour by parliamentarians, Seed Co managing director and Africa Seed Trade Association president Mr Denias Zaranyika appealed to Government on behalf of all 22 seed companies in Zimbabwe.

“As the seed industry, I would want to make a special appeal to policymakers to come up with laws and strict penalties that increase controls on circulation of fake seeds on the market,” he said.

Source:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *