Police at Chileka in Blantyre are keeping in custody a driver and seven other people for being found with 30 bags of charcoal.
Confirming the development to this publication was Chileka police public relations officer Sub Inspector Peter Mchiza who said the eight were nabbed earlier this week on Tuesday, March 9, 2021.
Sub Inspector Mchiza then identified the driver as Evison Sandram who was driving a one and half tonner motor vehicle registration number NE 3310 Townace, loaded with roughly 30 bags of charcoal.
The publicist said the vehicle was heading from the direction of Chikuli towards Chilimba along the Chikuli-Kameza road in the commercial.
It is reported that upon reaching Gadaga trading centre close to Chileka airport at around 0940 hours, the vehicle was intercepted by the Police patrol team who had mounted a roadblock.
He was taken to Chileka Police Station. The other seven people followed the vehicle to the station and the mentioned them as the owners of the charcoal and that he was only transporting it.
In no time, the suspects were all arrested and they accepted to be the owners of the charcoal.
Meanwhile, the suspects are in police custody waiting to appear before the court to answer the charges as forest act prohibits wanton cutting down of trees.
The driver Evison Sandram who is 42, comes from Singano village in the area of Traditional Authority Kuntaja in Blantyre
