SIX people were arrested after street clashes with police outside the MDC-T HQ in Harare on Tuesday.
A security officer for Prime Minister Tsvangirai's party was among those arrested, police said.
Harare police spokesman James Sabau said police respondent to a complaint by a member of a gospel choir that street vendors were selling pirated copies of their CDs.
When police went to arrest the street vendors on a sidewalk near the MDC's Harvest House headquarters, the vendors ran into the building, he said.
Police chased them inside, sparking a scuffle with MDC activists, he said.
"Police were left with no option but to fire tear canisters into the building. The police were not aware that there was an exit door at the back of the building, which the suspects used to flee," Sabau said.
MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said on Tuesday that the raid on the vendors was an excuse for police to harass the party.
"This is a deliberate attempt by the police to harass and decimate the MDC," he said.