Suspects steal gun

Police in Malawi’s commercial city, Blantyre, have arrested two of their colleagues after some criminals, who were in custody, broke the cell and bolted with a rifle and live ammunition.

Limbe Police public relations officer Chifundo Chibwenzo confirmed the arrest of Davie Maikolo and Maxwell Kasambwe on allegations that they allowed the suspects to escape from custody.

The two police officers were on duty on Saturday night at Kachere Police Unit in Blantyre.

“It is true that on Saturday night, some criminals escaped from police custody and that two police officers have been arrested and are currently being kept at Limbe Police Station,” said Chibwenzo who declined to disclose the number of the suspects on the loose.

Chibwenzo said the suspects stole a BXP rifle with seven rounds of ammunition and also five rounds of ammunition for a weapon called 303. She said investigations are underway.

“The two officers who have been arrested were the ones on duty that night and by the time this happened, there were no officers at the police unit,” she said.

But sources at Limbe Police Station said there were six habitual criminals who were left at the police unit by officers from the Criminal Investigative Department (CID) during the day.