By Santos Zefania

Lilongwe, June 15, Mana: Police in Lilongwe have arrested 23 people for illegally involved  in firearms deal.

The suspects include three Malawi Defence Force officers, one British national, two Chinese nationals, and an Italian, arrested in multiple districts of Blantyre, Nsanje, Chiradzulu, Zomba, Lilongwe, Ntchisi and Dowa.

National Police Deputy Public Relations Officer, Harry Namwaza, confirmed the development on Sunday saying the suspects are accused of unlawful possession of dangerous weapons.

He said 19 pistols, 415 live rounds of ammunition, three explosives devices and 325 blank cartridges have been recovered.

"Police conducted special intelligence-led operations following a tip-off from the general public regarding suspect Mike Minjale, who allegedly smuggled illegal firearms and supplied them to various individuals," said Namwaza.

He added that Police arrested Minjale on June 3, at a roadblock in Ngumbe, Blantyre. Later, another special team made arrests and recovered illegal firearms.

Namwaza said they discovered that Minjale smuggled 20 pistols into Malawi from South Africa and distributed them to various individuals.

Police investigations are working to locate the remaining pistol and apprehend the holder.