The Mzimba Senior Resident Magistrate court on Tuesday ordered five women to pay a fine of K150,000 each for importing 180 bags of charcoal from Zambia into the country illegally or face a jail term of 30 months each and another K100, 000 each for possession of the forest products or serve a jail term of 24 months in default.

They were arrested late last month .

Senior Resident Magistrate Mathews Msiska has also ordered the driver of the vehicle used in the importation of the charcoal belonging to the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) Synod of Livingstonia and his four assistants to pay a fine of K150,000 each or serve a jail term of 30 months each for trafficking forest products.

The court also ordered that the vehicle used in the operation be returned to the (CCAP) Synod of Livingstonia as this was the first time it has been used in trafficking charcoal.