11 November 2009
THE Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) has arrested an Angolan for trafficking in over 700 grammes of pure grade cocaine worth millions of Kwacha.
And more than 58 people have been arrested countrywide in the last six days for trafficking in various quantities of cannabis with a total weight of 55 kilogrammes.
Speaking at a Press briefing at the commission's regional offices in Ndola yesterday, DEC public relations officer, John Nyawali said Serginho Paulo Armando, a photographer by profession, was arrested at Ndola International Airport upon arrival from Brazil via South Africa aboard a South African Airways plane.
Mr Nyawali said the seizure was the biggest this year and that DEC officers stationed at the airport managed to detect that Mr Armando had swallowed 70 pellets of pure grade cocaine weighing more than 700 grammes.
Mr Armando is currently in police custody and will appeal in court soon.
Mr Nyawali said security at Ndola International Airport and other entry points was being tightened to ensure that Zambia was not used as a transit point or consumer of illicit drugs.
Recently, the DEC and the police in Ndola seized more than 17 pellets of cocaine which were found in a male cell during repair works on a sewer pipe which was blocked.
In Monze, a 27-year-old woman of Namwanza Village died instantly on Monday after she was hit by a stray bullet.
The accident happened when one of the family members was trying to shoot the deceased's husband after a wrangle over land.
Ivy Namwanza was standing outside a make-shift bathroom waiting for her husband who was having a bath when she was shot around 20:00 hours.
Southern Province police commanding officer, Lemmy Kajoba confirmed the death of Ms Namwanza, saying preliminary investigations showed that she was not the target but the husband.
"It was as a result of the land dispute the husband had with some family members. The husband was the target but the wife was shot instead using a shot gun," Mr Kajoba said.
He said the suspect was on the run but that he had been identified and the police would soon catch up with him.
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