By SILUMESI MALUMO
THE Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) has arrested a Zimbabwean truck driver for trafficking cannabis and another for allegedly attempting to bribe a Commission officer.
DEC Public Relations Manager Theresa Katongo said Justin Chapinduka, 25, a truck driver of Harare in Zimbabwe, had been arrested for trafficking in 78 bags of dry loose cannabis weighing 1.6 tonnes concealed in black plastics found in an improvised compartment of the truck he was driving.
She said in a statement yesterday, the truck driver abandoned his truck when he was intercepted at the Zambia National Service checkpoint in Luangwa on November 29, 2020 and a man hunt was launched for his arrest.
“On 2nd December, 2020, the owner of the truck, Mike Mpinga, 34, a Zimbabwean businessman together with his truck driver who was on the run, were apprehended at Levy Mall in Lusaka, where the Zimbabwean businessman attempted to bribe a DEC officer with K30, 000 for the release of his truck,” she said.
The case involving the owner of the truck, Ms Katongo said, had since been handed over to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for further investigations and possible prosecution while the truck driver had been charged with trafficking in 1.6 tonnes of cannabis.
Both suspects are in Police custody and will appear in court soon.
