Police in Lilongwe have arrested two Nigerians—Collins Okoligwe Amaech, 30, and Kingsley Olisa—in connection with their alleged involvement in illicit drug trade in the country.
The two, who police say were on the run since ‘Operation Clean Area 47 of Drugs’ started in May this year, were arrested at Mississippi Lodge in Mtandire Township in Lilongwe, according to National Police deputy spokesperson Thomeck Nyaude.
He said the duo will appear before the Lilongwe Magistrate’s Court to answer charges of being found in possession of dangerous drugs, an offence that attracts a minimum of five years imprisonment if found guilty.
Said Nyaude: “I can confirm that we have arrested the two Nigerians, but I cannot tell you which police station they are being held at for security purposes.
“We arrested the two after a tip-off and we discovered that after the operation to flush out drug traffickers in Area 47 started, the two chose to leave their homes and started dwelling in lodges.”
He said police recovered apomorphine which they say they will use as evidence in court.
In May this year, Malawians woke up to the sad news of the death of 26-year-old Riyadh Randera in Brazil apparently after some of the drugs-filled condoms he had swallowed, to evade detection by international law-enforcers, burst.
It is alleged that the deceased, who reportedly made the trip without the knowledge of his parents, swallowed cocaine-filled condoms to evade detection of the drugs by security elements. But the gamble backfired when, reportedly, some of the condoms in him burst.
Nigerian national Alex Ojukwu, who is nicknamed Old Man and who confessed to having bought Riyadh an air ticket for the trip, ostensibly for a holiday, was arrested by the police over the matter, and up to date 16 more people have been arrested in connection with drug trade.
