Police in Lilongwe have recovered 426 bags of maize which were diverted by a truck driver and sold at Thete in Dedza.
The driver Jeffrey Mchawa, 29, oaded 600 bags of maize weighing 50 kilograms each at Namitete in Lilongwe. He was set to deliver the maize in Balaka but he sold all the 600 bags at Thete in Dedza.
According to Lilongwe Police
Public Relations Officer Hastings Chigalu, the suspect who loaded the maize bags on a 30 tonner truck registration number BU 2580/KU 9049, was told by the owner of the property to rest in Lilongwe City, before proceeding to Balaka on the next day morning.
However, despite agreeing to meet at a certain place in the morning for the continuation of the journey together, the maize owner’s wait yielded nothing as the driver was nowhere to be seen with the truck.
All attempts to trace him proved futile as his phone also went unanswered.
Following investigations after receipt of the complaint from both owners of the truck and the grain, Area 3 Police detectives located the freightliner at Biwi Triangle while empty.
Intensified police investigations and manhunt later led to the arrest of the suspect in Salima District where he escaped to after commission of the offence.
Then the station’s detectives went to recover the 426 bags at Thete in Dedza District.
Efforts are still underway to recover the remaining 174 bags.
Jeffrey Mchawa (suspect) who hails from Mawuwa Village, Traditional Authority Mpama in Chiradzulu District, will appear in court soon to face theft charges.
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