Two Irish nationals fined after CID hotey raid yields $5 dagga stash

 

Three people, including two Irish nationals, were each fined US$110 after police found dagga in their hotel room in Harare.

Jodie Kinsella, 37, Tadgh Joseph Byrnes, 23, and Melisa Khan, 42, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of dangerous drugs before Harare magistrate Lisah Mutendereki.

The court heard that Kinsella and Byrnes, both Irish nationals, had checked into Rainbow Towers Hotel with Khan.

On June 24, 2026, detectives from the CID Drugs and Narcotics Unit acted on a tip-off and searched Room 1018 with the occupants' consent.

Police recovered five sachets of dagga from a table in the room and seized the drugs before taking the trio to the CID Drugs and Narcotics offices for further investigations.

Prosecutors said the recovered dagga had a street value of US$5.

Each of the three was fined US$110 or, in default of payment, will serve 60 days in prison.