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Drug trafficking cases worry government

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has expressed concern over the increased cases of Malawian nationals being arrested and detained abroad on drug trafficking offences.

Some Malawian women are behind bars in foreign countries for drug trafficking Some Malawian women are behind bars in foreign countries for drug trafficking

According to a press statement released by the ministry, these cases are mostly involving young Malawian ladies. The ministry made the remarks following the arrest of two young ladies in Ethiopia while the other one is serving a seven year jail term and the fourth one is undergoing trial in the same country.


“In the past month, two young Malawian ladies were recently arrested at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for trafficking dangerous drugs and are currently in detention awaiting trial.

Another Malawian woman is serving a 7 year jail sentence in an Ethiopian prison while a forth one is undergoing trial in the same country, having been arrested last year over similar charges. We have others serving sentences in India and Latin America,” reads the statement in part.


The statement states that based on reports from the arrested women, the victims are either duped or coerced by foreigners (mostly male) to enlist in illicit drug trade with promises of monetary rewards, better life and sometimes even marriage.


“In some cases, the drug dealers have also approached the victims posing as businessmen trading in products such as cosmetics, artificial hair and other items and have taken the unsuspecting women on business trips to places such as India, Brazil and West African countries unaware that the said businessmen are dealers or traffickers of dangerous drugs including cocaine, heroin and other dangerous narcotic substances.


In the process, the victims are made to carry luggage (sealed or otherwise) concealing drugs when passing through airport security check points, ending up being arrested,” adds the statement.


The press release also advises parents and guardians of Malawian students studying abroad to ensure that their children and students are adequately warned and informed of this development and risk.


“The reputation and security of our nation and its people is everyone’s responsibility. Let us all work together against this vice,” part of statement reads.


The statement further says drug trafficking is a serious offence which carries heavy penalties including death sentence in some countries.

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