Immigration officers, Pakistanis arrested in passport scam

Two Pakistanis and three Malawians have been implicated in a passport syndicate where K12 million allegedly changed hands.

The three Malawians are said to be employees of the Immigration Department.

Sources said the syndicate was busted on Saturday when authorities at Dedza Border Post intercepted the Pakistanis as they attempted to exit the country using suspected counterfeit passports.

Immigration Department national spokesperson Joseph Chauwa confirmed the development, but he could not give more details because investigations were still in progress.

He said: “It is true, but I am not in a position to name the suspects as this may jeopardise the investigations.

“But, basically, the issue is that they didn’t follow normal procedures in acquiring the passports and also that there seem to be some criminal activity involved. The three [Immigration] officers have since been arrested over the matter.”

The incident comes amid reports, earlier this year, that corruption was high at the Immigration Department, especially in the processing of passports.

Our sister newspaper, Weekend Nation, went under cover to confirm reports and suspicions about bribery in processing of passports.