Police in Limbe have arrested a Zimbabwean national and two Malawians for possessing three live pangolins.
This is according to Limbe police public relations officer Inspector Patrick Mussa who has identified the Zimbabwean as Trust Muzavazi aged 39 and the Malawians as Lewis Elias aged 30 and Patrick Manja aged 38.
Inspector Mussa said the three were cornered in the afternoon on Monday, December 9, 2019 at Mibawa Filling Station in Limbe.
The publicist further said this followed a tip-off Limbe detectives received from some patriotic citizens that the three were possessing the said pangolins which they were offering for sale.
Officers from Wildlife Crime Investigations Unit in Lilongwe and their Limbe counterparts organized an operation which led to the suspects’ arrest and seizure of the animals.
Inspector Mussa told this publication that the three who appeared before Limbe Senior Resident Magistrate Court have been charged with an offense of being found in possession of specimen of listed species and they have been remanded to Chichiri Prison.
Meanwhile, the three protected species have since been released into Majete Game Reserve after an order by the court.
Muzavazi hails from Chimwalira in Zimbabwe. Elias is from Kalimbi village in Traditional Authority Ndamela in Nsanje, while Manja comes from Zuwa village in the area of Traditional Authority Mpama in Chiradzulu district
