Mponela Police Station agents intercepted a 15-tonne van and upon search, 10 foreigners were found hiding in between a wedge built from bags of rice, unshelled groundnuts and fish.

The 10 foreigners are Ethiopian, as Mponela First Grade Magistrate Court has convicted and sentenced the two Malawians that trafficked them, to one-and-a-half years in prison.

Magistrate Anthony Banda ordered that all the illegal immigrants be deported to their original country and found the two Malawians guilty of trafficking in persons.

The convicts are 36-year-old Alufeyo Mkwanda from Eneya Village, in the area of Traditional Authority (T/A) Kwataine, in Ntcheu District while 27-year-old Mathews Msopole is from Mwahimba Village, T/A Kyungu, in Karonga District.

On the other hand, 16 foreign nationals have been arrested by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services, for allegedly staying and operating businesses in Malawi illegally. According to Eastern Region Immigration Officer Vivian Kasambo, some of the immigrants are from Mozambique,  Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria. Most of the immigrants did not have valid documentation to allow them to enter into, or conduct business in, the country,” he said.