Two held with 42 bags of chamba after their car broke down at Mapira
Patrol officers in Ntcheu district arrested two men and seized 42 plastic bags of cannabis sativa after stopping to help them with a broken-down car at Mapira Trading Centre on the Lilongwe–Blantyre M1 road. Police said the two, travelling from Dwangwa to Mulanje, would appear in court on a charge of possessing cannabis under the Dangerous Drugs Act.
Two men were arrested in Ntcheu district with 42 plastic bags of cannabis
sativa, known in Malawi as chamba.[1]Ntcheu police spokesperson Hastings
Chigalu said patrol officers came upon their broken-down dark blue Nissan Tiida,
registration NS 6328, at Mapira Trading Centre on the Lilongwe–Blantyre M1 road
near Lizulu Trading Centre.[1]
Chigalu said the officers stopped to help because motorists had recently been
attacked on that stretch of road, and found the drug while assisting the two.[1]The two were travelling from Dwangwa to Mulanje district, and police seized
the drug and impounded the car.[1]Police sent the cannabis to Chitedze
Research Station for examination.[1]
Police said the two would appear in court soon on a charge of being found in
possession of cannabis sativa under the Dangerous Drugs Act.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
2
Vehicles confiscated
1
Agency
Ntcheu Police
Agency type
Police
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis
Activity
Possession, Trafficking
Setting
Vehicle
Charge
being found in possession of cannabis sativa contrary to Regulation 4 (a) as read with section 19 of the Dangerous Drugs Act
The article gives no date for the arrest; 23 June 2017 is its publication date and stands in as the incident date.
The number of bags is reported, but no weight for the cannabis is given.
The court outcome is not known; the two had not yet appeared when the article was published.
The suspects' villages in Nkhotakota district are recorded only as their reported homes and are not the place of the arrest.
Only one account of this arrest could be opened; an AllAfrica syndication of the same Nyasa Times article was blocked.
The page's single illustration carries a general caption about cannabis popularity and cannot be confirmed to show this seizure, so no photo is listed.
Police in Dedza arrested 46-year-old Mayamiko Empraim on suspicion of supplying chamba to three pupils aged 13 to 15 at Kapalamula Primary School. He was in custody and expected to face a charge of possessing cannabis sativa after a school outreach programme led to the report.
Police arrested four people aged 17 to 27 during a sweeping exercise in Balaka Township on 31 October 2026 for possessing cannabis sativa without a licence. Two were found with loose cannabis and 15 twists in a plastic lid; two with loose cannabis in glass bottles and two packets of hemp rolling papers. All four, from Traditional Authority Nsamala, will appear in court.
Malawi police arrested David Chikomeni Chirwa, a board member of the Cannabis Regulatory Authority, and Storm Kandodo at the Jenda roadblock on the night of 6 August 2026 after finding 19.2 kg of cannabis they could not show a permit for. Chirwa was granted bail at his first court appearance the next day.
Police in Blantyre arrested Castel Malawi Limited chief Herve Milhad on 8 April 2022 for allegedly growing cannabis at his Kabula Heights home, seizing 5 grams and uprooting 59 plants. He was granted police bail the same day pending laboratory verification and a court appearance.
