Zambia’s Drug Enforcement Commission arrested four suspects and seized cannabis in coordinated operations across Muchinga, Southern and Lusaka provinces.[1] In the Thendere area of Chilumbi village in Mafinga District, a joint DEC and Zambia Police team arrested 59-year-old Binwell Chanda for trafficking 18.5 kilogrammes of dry loose cannabis wrapped in banana leaves and concealed in polythene bags.[2] In Sinazongwe District, officers arrested 51-year-old peasant farmer Selina Mwalama of Mwanajoke Village, who was found with 470 balls and loose cannabis weighing 4.6 kilogrammes.[2] During the same operation, officers apprehended 28-year-old Lucky Siabusu, an assistant shopkeeper and relative of Mwalama, for allegedly attempting to bribe officers with K5,000 to secure her release.[2] Siabusu was handed over to the Anti-Corruption Commission for further investigation.[2] At the Chirundu One-Stop Border Post, officers arrested 37-year-old Congolese national Modeste Wetu Kankonde for trafficking 2.3 kilogrammes of cannabis.[2] Kankonde was intercepted while travelling from South Africa and was reportedly destined for the Democratic Republic of Congo.[2]
The combined haul was described as more than 25 kilogrammes of cannabis, with the three stated weights totalling 25.4 kilogrammes.[3] DEC public relations officer Allan Tamba said in a statement issued in Lusaka on Monday that the intelligence-led operations were part of intensified efforts to disrupt illicit drug supply chains.[4] All four suspects remained in lawful custody awaiting court processes.[4]
The operations were presented as part of the commission’s broader campaign against drug trafficking networks operating across Zambian regions.[3] Tamba warned that border-control operations had been intensified and that people engaged in transnational drug trafficking would be arrested and prosecuted.[4]
