Five people are in Police custody in Kasungu for allegedly trafficking 87 Malawians from Mzimba district to the Rainbow Nation through a South African bus.

The suspects were arrested over the weekend at Linga Village in Kasungu District after the bus which they were using was intercepted by the Police.

Kasungu Police Station spokesperson Edwin Kaunda confirmed of the development in an interview with the press and identified the suspects as Jonathan Beza, 45, Watson Tonga, 28, Happy Jere, 30, Stuart Masambo, 39, and 37-year-old Gibson Tembo.

Kaunda said the suspects were using a bus registration number NA 2879, carrying 46 men and 41 women on board.

“We take this as modern day slavery. Out of the 87 people, only 22 possessed passports while the rest had no travel document. In addition, of the 22 passports, some had immigration stamps indicating that their holders were already in South Africa. We are investigating how that happened,” said Kaunda.

Kaunda said the trafficked people have been released while the suspects are still in Police custody, saying they will appear in court to answer charges of human trafficking contrary to Section 257 of the Penal Code.