Two earn six years each for possessing Cannabis Sativa

Some of the confiscated bags of cannabis sativa

The Chief Resident Magistrate's Court in Lilongwe has jailed two men, Lorman Khola and George Mkwinda, after being found guilty to a charge of found in possession of Cannabis Sativa (Indian Hemp) contrary to Section 19(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act as read with Regulation 4(a) of the same Act. 

The duo was on April 13, 2022 caught carrying 57 bags of the illicit drug weighing 1,221 kilograms without a licence or permit in a Hino truck registration number NE 5012 at Dwangwa Trading Centre and they pleaded guilty before Acting Chief Resident Magistrate Madalitso Chimwaza. 

They, however, asked the court to be lenient considering among other factors that they were first offenders. 

The state through Deputy Director of Prosecution in the Malawi Police Service, Mrs. Cecilia Zangazanga, ACP, asked the court to pass a stiff punishment considering the seriousness of the offence among other aggravating factors. 

Zangazanga further prayed for forfeiture of the vehicle that was used in the commission of the crime which belongs to the first convict. 

The court found the aggravating factors of the case weighing more than the mitigations. The court therefore sentenced the duo to six years imprisonment with hard labour each and further forfeited the Hino truck to Malawi Government. 

The court also ordered the burning of the illicit drug in the presence of the judiciary and police. 

The Malawi Police Service is therefore appealing to Malawians to continue tipping law enforcers about suspicious drug dealers. 

Khola, 41, hails from Ng'ombe Village, Traditional Authority Namwera in Mangochi while Mkwinda, 43, comes from Suwila Village, Traditional Authority Kaomba in Kasungu.*Two earns six years each for possessing Cannabis Sativa* 

The Chief Resident Magistrate's Court in Lilongwe has jailed two men, Lorman Khola and George Mkwinda, after being found guilty to a charge of found in possession of Cannabis Sativa (Indian Hemp) contrary to Section 19(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act as read with Regulation 4(a) of the same Act. 

The duo was on April 13, 2022 caught carrying 57 bags of the illicit drug weighing 1,221 kilograms without a licence or permit in a Hino truck registration number NE 5012 at Dwangwa Trading Centre and they pleaded guilty before Acting Chief Resident Magistrate Madalitso Chimwaza. 

They, however, asked the court to be lenient considering among other factors that they were first offenders. 

The state through Deputy Director of Prosecution in the Malawi Police Service, Mrs. Cecilia Zangazanga, ACP, asked the court to pass a stiff punishment considering the seriousness of the offence among other aggravating factors. 

Zangazanga further prayed for forfeiture of the vehicle that was used in the commission of the crime which belongs to the first convict. 

The court found the aggravating factors of the case weighing more than the mitigations. The court therefore sentenced the duo to six years imprisonment with hard labour each and further forfeited the Hino truck to Malawi Government. 

The court also ordered the burning of the illicit drug in the presence of the judiciary and police. 

The Malawi Police Service is therefore appealing to Malawians to continue tipping law enforcers about suspicious drug dealers. 

Khola, 41, hails from Ng'ombe Village, Traditional Authority Namwera in Mangochi while Mkwinda, 43, comes from Suwila Village, Traditional Authority Kaomba in Kasungu.

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