11 held as cannabis greenhouse found on Zambian exporter's farm
Zambian exporter Sydney Chileshe and 10 farm workers were arrested after officers found a greenhouse full of cannabis on his farm near Lusaka. Chileshe was charged with drug trafficking, and officers said they seized a press allegedly used to compress cannabis for smuggling to Europe.
Zambia’s Drug Enforcement Commission said on Wednesday that a leading Zambian
businessman had been arrested and charged withdrug trafficking after a huge
greenhouse full of cannabis was discovered on his farm.[1]Sydney Chileshe,
chairperson of the Zambia Export Growers Association, was arrested and detained
along with 10 of his farm workers on Monday evening, according to DEC
spokesperson Hussein Khan.[1]A second account confirms that Chileshe and 10
farm workers were arrested and detained on Monday night.[2]
Chileshe, 48, had been exporting roses and vegetables to Europe for many years
and was described as a leading figure in Zambian business circles.[1]The DEC
also seized a machine that was allegedly used to compress cannabis before it was
smuggled to Europe.[1]The report described Chileshe as the first prominent
Zambian businessman to be arrested in connection with cultivating cannabis.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
11
Charged
1
Agency
Drug Enforcement Commission
Agency type
Anti-narcotics agency
Setting
Farm
Grown
Greenhouse
Charge
drug trafficking
Case stage
Charged
Region
Lusaka
Date
Approximate
Sources
IOLiol.co.zaCannabis greenhouse lands Zambian in the dock
No quantity, plant count, greenhouse size or area was published; the greenhouse was described only as huge and full of cannabis.
The arrest date of 23 February 2004 is inferred from Monday evening relative to the Wednesday 25 February 2004 publication; no separate calendar date for the raid was published.
The farm's precise location was not given beyond the Lusaka dateline, so Lusaka is used as the place.
No charges, pleas or court outcome for the 10 farm workers were reported, and no court outcome for Chileshe was reported in these sources.
The News24 account reproduces the same agency account as IOL and is not fully independent reporting.
Zambia's Drug Enforcement Commission arrested and jointly charged a Malawian man and a Zambian woman over 175 kg of dry cannabis carried from Malawi into Zambia through Lumezi district. Both were on the commission's watch list for cross-border trafficking.
Zambia's Drug Enforcement Commission arrested four suspects and seized 25.4 kg of cannabis in intelligence-led operations across Muchinga, Southern and Lusaka provinces. Those held included Binwell Chanda with 18.5 kg in Mafinga, Selina Mwalama with 4.6 kg in Sinazongwe and a Congolese national with 2.3 kg at Chirundu, all awaiting court.
Zambia's Drug Enforcement Commission arrested five suspects after intercepting a Copperbelt-bound public bus near Kasanda Police Station in Kabwe. The bus allegedly carried high-grade cannabis and Benylin with codeine, and the suspects were held for court.
Zambia's Drug Enforcement Commission arrested Tanzanian national Ahmed Muharram in Lilayi, Lusaka, seizing 1,380.8 kg of high-grade cannabis linked to him. Six other suspects were held in the same coordinated operations, including two Burundian nationals in Chirundu, and all awaited court.
