The Northern Region Immigration Department has arrested 55 Ethiopian nationals for illegal entry.
Four Malawians have also been arrested for facilitating the immigrants’ entry.
The 55 illegal immigrants and the four Malawians are being kept at Mzuzu prison waiting for legal proceedings.
Deputy public relations officer at regional immigration office in the North Francis Chitambuli said they managed to arrest the 59 after receiving a tipoff from well-wishers that there was an engine boat sailing through Lake Malawi which was believed to have started off from Mbeya in Tanzania and had some suspicious people on board.
“This prompted the office to deploy some police officers around the area and later they managed to arrest the said illegal immigrants and also impounded two vehicles which were used in the malpractice bearing registration number KK 6589 and MJ 7124,” he said.
One of the Malawian nationals arrested revealed that they were travelling to Dzaleka refugee camp in Dowa on their way to South Africa.
The arrested illegal immigrants are men of ages between 15 and 40 and will appear in court soon to answer charges of illegal entry which contravenes section 21(1) of Immigration Act, whereas the four Malawians will answer a charge of aiding foreigners into the country that contravenes section 36 of Immigration Act.
The four Malawians who aided the 55 illegal immigrants are Isaac Chikhosi, 38, Chifundo Manda aged 32 both drivers and their assistants Simoko Simeon, 32, and Maloto Maloni, 35.
