The Mangochi Senior Resident Magistrate’s Court has convicted and sentenced Tupac Justin, 47, to one year imprisonment with hard labor and a K100,000 fine for possessing medical drugs and accessories without proper documentation.
During court proceedings, prosecutor Sub Inspector Davie Katandika narrated that on September 28, 2024, around 2 a.m., a team of night patrol officers mounted a snap roadblock at Namiyasi along the Mangochi-Monkey Bay Road. They intercepted a Toyota Hiace minibus, registration number MC10637, traveling from Mangochi to Lilongwe with passengers on board.
Upon searching the vehicle, the officers initially found six cartons of Cremora milk. However, upon further inspection, they discovered that the cartons contained assorted medical drugs and accessories, valued at K5 million, without proper documentation.
When questioned, the driver revealed that he had been sent by the convict to deliver the cartons to an undisclosed person in Lilongwe. The driver then led the police to the convict’s house in the township, where 70 bottles of Ketamine injectable fluid were also found, leading to the convict’s arrest.
Appearing before the court, the convict, who pleaded guilty, asked for leniency, stating that he is the breadwinner for his family.
In his submission, prosecutor Katandika requested for both a custodial sentence and a fine, emphasizing that the convict’s behavior was hazardous and had put communities’ lives at risk, given that he is not a medical practitioner.
Passing the sentence, Senior Resident Magistrate Muhammad Chande concurred with the state, noting that it is unfortunate that patients are dying in hospitals due to a lack of medicines, despite the government’s efforts to supply them.
He sentenced Tupac to one year imprisonment with hard labor and ordered him to pay a fine of K100,000, with a default sentence of six months imprisonment. All sentences are to run consecutively.
Chande further ordered that all the medical drugs and accessories be forfeited to the Malawi Government.
Tupac hails from Billy Village, Traditional Authority Bwananyambi, in Mangochi.
Inspector Amina Tepani Daudi
Public Relations Officer
Mangochi Police Station
Cell:0999-706-525
Email:amina.tepani@police.gov.mw
Website:www.police.gov.mw