By George Mponda

Karonga, June 24, Mana: Police in Karonga have arrested a 32-year-old Congolese national, Christine Manana for allegedly being found with over US$23,000 in suspected counterfeit notes and an additional US$14,070 in undocumented foreign currency at Songwe Border Post.

According to Spokesperson for Karonga Police Station, Margret Msiska the incident occurred on June 23, 2025 around 11:00 a.m. as Manana was returning to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) through the Songwe Border.

Police officers from Fiscal and Fraud Section conducted a routine search on the suspect and discovered that she had US$23,000 suspected to be counterfeit and another US$14,070 of  which, she had no supporting documents from a licensed financial institution or forex bureau," said Msiska.

Msiska added that the suspect was immediately taken into custody and the money was seized.

"The counterfeit currency will be sent to the Reserve Bank of Malawi for forensic analysis while investigations continue to trace the origin of the fake notes and undocumented cash," she said.

Manana who comes from Sudi Village in Kivu District of the DRC is expected to appear in court soon to answer charges of possessing counterfeit currency, illegal possession of foreign currency and attempting to externalise foreign currency without authorization.