National News

Five arrested for trafficking 87 Malawians

 

The Malawi Police Service (MPS) at the weekend intercepted a South Africa-bound bus on suspicion that it was trafficking 87 Malawians from Mzimba District to the Rainbow Nation.

Police have also arrested five alleged agents who have since been charged with human trafficking contrary to Section 257 of the Penal Code.arrest

The bus was intercepted at Linga Village in Kasungu District after the suspects allegedly attempted to evade officers from the Department of Road Traffic and Safety Services (DRTSS) who mounted a weigh-bridge along the main road.

Kasungu Police Station spokesperson Edwin Kaunda said in an interview yesterday the bus, registration NA 2879 and based in Mzuzu City, had 46 men and 41 women on board.

He said: “We take this as modern day slavery. Out of the 87 people, only 22 possessed passports while the rest had no travel document. In addition, of the 22 passports, some had immigration stamps indicating that their holders were already in South Africa. We are investigating how that happened.”

Kaunda said the five suspected traffickers were still being interrogated while the 87 victims have since been released.

Police have identified the five as Jonathan Beza, 45, Watson Tonga, 28, Happy Jere, 30, Stuart Masambo, 39, and 37-year-old Gibson Tembo.

Malawians continue trekking to South Africa in search of business and employment prospects despite the recent xenophobic attacks which led to about five Malawians being killed with over 3 500 returning home after surviving the attacks.

 

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