1,500 Mealie meal bags confiscated in Ndola

ABOUT 1,500 bags of mealie meal have been confiscated from various people who have been stockpiling in their shops and homes for suspected smuggling.

This was after police in Ndola unearthed a scam where unscrupulous people are stockpiling mealie meal in their houses which they are later smuggling to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

Copperbelt Province Minister, Japhen Mwakalombe has warned those involved of stiff punishment and described the development as unfortunate.

Mr. Mwakalombe said it was unfortunate that a few selfish individuals have resorted to disadvantage millions of residents in the province because they wanted to make huge profits.

He said when he led a combined team of state and Ndola City Council police that raided houses and shops where the Mealie meal is being stockpiled that government will bring to book all men and women behind the scourge.

One of the routes being used for the continued illegal activities by unscrupulous individuals was Kawama in Ndola.

Unscrupulous individuals were using these porous routes to smuggle the commodity which was fetching at higher price than the obtaining local prices in the country.

The unscrupulous people were on daily basis loading the commodity using their bicycles to illegally export it to DRC.

Information had reached the Daily Nation that these people had identified Kawama route to be the most porous.

But the continued illegality has now attracted the attention of Government. Forthwith, government has warned that those found caught in the smuggling ring would be prosecuted.

However, Copperbelt Province Permanent Secretary

Bright Nundwe said Government had tightened up security on various routes which connect to DRC and various borders to stop what he termed to be criminal activities.

He said in an interview yesterday, Government would not sit idle seeing people engaging in activities that had a negative impact to the country.

These activities, Mr Nundwe said, were the major contributors to the shortage of mealie meal in the province and that would not be condoned.

He said Government had deployed ZNS officers, the police and the army to tighten security so that the illegalities can be curbed.