The Lusaka Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, 10 September 2026 sentenced businessman Henry Kasolo — who had been on the Drug Enforcement Commission’s (DEC) wanted list — to seven years’ imprisonment with hard labour on each of three counts: trafficking in cannabis, unlawful importation of 73.9 kilograms of cannabis, and corrupt practices.[1][2]

The case arose when two Thai nationals were arrested at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport with four suitcases holding 120 pieces of compressed cannabis; the court heard Kasolo later offered 60,000 kwacha to a DEC officer to secure their release and move the consignment.[1][2] The state could not produce a prior-conviction record and told the court “the accused person is a first offender”.[2] Resident Magistrate Webster Milumbe said the quantity of cannabis was an aggravating factor that required a deterrent sentence, rejecting the defence’s pleas of illness and family need, and ordered the three seven-year terms to run concurrently from Kasolo’s arrest on 26 June 2025; he has 14 days to appeal.[1][2] A hearing on the disposal of the seized exhibits was set for 6 October 2026.[2]