Alleged cocaine peddler nabbed at Chileka Airport

A Tanzanian national who was arrested for possessing two kilogrammes (kg) of cocaine at Chileka International Airport in Blantyre on Sunday has been charged with illegal exportation and possession of dangerous drugs.

The suspect, Kelvin Michael Mgosi, was caught with the illicit drug on Sunday afternoon when he was about to board an Ethiopian Airlines plane using passport number AB561955.

According to Chileka Airport Police spokesperson Sapulain Chitonde, the suspect was in transit to Spain from Tanzania via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at the time of the arrest.

He said Mgosi tried to beat the airport’s security system by hiding the contraband in materials designed to conceal them past the security scan.

He said: “Upon reaching the security check, the machine detected some substances in the bag of the suspect which led our officers to conduct a physical check of the bag.

“After opening the bag, they discovered that it contained cocaine that was concealed in special materials to beat security at the airport.”

Early this month, the Blantyre Chief Resident Magistrate Court sentenced a Venezuelan national, Andreina Torres, to seven months imprisonment for being found guilty of illegal importation of dangerous drugs.

She was caught with  10 bundles of cocaine at Chileka Internatonal Airport last July. n