POLICE in Harare yesterday said they arrested a foreign female on Monday 10, for attempting to smuggle cocaine with a street value of $7 million at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.

In a statement, police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the suspect was nabbed after a tip-off.

“The cocaine, weighing 945 grammes was stashed in a foreign suspect’s undergarments. The suspect has been placed under surveillance as she is believed to have ingested some of the plastic balls containing the cocaine in a bid to avoid detection at the airport,” he said.

Police also arrested four suspects, Elias Chiumira (20), Odwell Madhuku (33), Elias Shoma (27) and Nelson Bundwa (47) on May 8 at Humani Ranch in Sabi, in connection with two cases of poaching after they were found with a leopard carcass and four wire snares.

Meanwhile, police have expressed concern over the rise in murder cases, with the majority of perpetrators being mentally challenged people.

In a statement yesterday, Nyathi urged the public to ensure their mentally-challenged relatives access medication to avoid such incidents.

He said on May 2, a suspected mentally-challenged Gutu man (36) assaulted minors aged two and five, fatally striking one of them with a brick before fleeing from the crime scene.

In another incident on May 7 in Gasva village, Gutu, a 40-year-old suspected mentally-challenged man fatally struck his father with a wooden hoe handle before turning on his 76-yearold mother, leaving her battling for life.