By Wendy Mkandawire
Jenda police station is keeping in custody six Ethiopian nationals and two Tanzanians for illegal entry into the country and aiding illegal immigrants respectively.
Speaking in an interview, public relations officer for Jenda police station Sub inspector Gladwell Simwaka, the arrest was made during the night of 4-5 August ,2026 at Jenda Trading Centre along Mzimba-Mzuzu M1 road.
According to Simwaka, the incident came to light after one of the illegal immigrants was spotted loitering at the trading center. This prompted officers to conduct intensive investigations, which led to the discovery and arrest of five other Ethiopians concealed in two fuel tankers with registration numbers T992DJE and T204DLB.
Police also arrested the two Tanzanian tanker drivers for allegedly aiding the illegal immigrants in entering the country.
Preliminary investigations have established that the six Ethiopians had no travel documents and were being transported by the tanker drivers from Songwe in Karonga, en route to Lilongwe.
The suspects have been identified as Biryani Botiso, 26, Malasa Arema, 26, Bereketi Tarmiyati, 27, Malekimu Asefa, 28, Andat Tshuma, 26, and Abedinago Asefa, 25, all from Ethiopia.
The Tanzanian drivers are Dugumbi Mshindo, 40, and Ramadhan Hamis, 31, both from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Simwaka said the eight will appear in court soon to answer the charges levelled against them.
