2 jailed over trafficking in persons
By Wezzie Gausi:
The Mponela First Grade Magistrate Court has convicted and sentenced two Malawians to one-and-a-half years in prison for trafficking 10 Ethiopians.
The court has also ordered the deportation of illegal immigrants.
State Prosecutor Mphatso Banda told the court that, on May 23 2021, Mponela Police Station agents intercepted a 15-tonne van, registration number MJ 9506, which was heading to Lilongwe from Kasungu.
“Police discovered that there were foreigners hiding in between a wedge built from bags of rice, unshelled groundnuts and fish, “Banda said.
Those accused pleaded guilty to the charge.
Magistrate Anthony Banda ordered that all the illegal immigrants be deported to their original country and found the two Malawians guilty of trafficking in persons.
He said human trafficking had the potential to promote transnational crimes.
The convicts are 36-year-old Alufeyo Mkwanda from Eneya Village, in the area of Traditional Authority (T/A) Kwataine, in Ntcheu District while 27-year-old Mathews Msopole is from Mwahimba Village, T/A Kyungu, in Karonga District.
The Ethiopians are in the hands of Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services (Dics) while waiting for repatriation.
Between the months of April and May, Malawi Police Service and Dics have been conducting joint operations that have led to the flushing out of illegal immigrants.
