By DELPHINE ZULU
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A LUSAKA magistrate’s court yesterday discharged Gerald Musalale commonly known as ‘Seven Spirits’  but his freedom was short-lived as he was immediately re-arrested by the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC).
DEC officers, who had positioned themselves within the court room, pounced on Musalale, who is yet to be slapped with a new charge.
Magistrate Mary Chibangu discharged the accused person after the State applied to the court to withdraw the offence of trafficking in drugs.
‘‘Accused, you are hereby discharged, this does not mean an acquittal, you can be re-arrested in an event that they find new charges against you, for now you are free,’’ Ms Chibangu said.
Musalale, 24, of Lusaka’s Kanyama Township was facing two counts of trafficking in marijuana and cocaine but pleaded not guilty to both offences.
It was alleged that Musalale on July 22, 2014 trafficked in narcotic drugs namely 29.8 grammes of cocaine without lawful authority, while in the second count he was alleged to have trafficked in psychotropic substances namely 966.6 grammes of marijuana a herbal product of cannabis sativa without lawful authority.
In the second count, he was alleged to have trafficked 966.6 grammes of psychotropic substances namely marijuana a herbal product of cannabis sativa without lawful authority.
He was apprehended in Lusaka’s Chibolya Township during a cleanup exercise by a combined team of law enforcement agencies recently for displaying various drugs claiming that was their business.