23 foreigners nabbed in Chibolya clean up

By CHUSA SICHONE –
THE immigration department says 23 foreigners were among the 300 people who were arrested during the raid on the notorious Chibolya Township in Lusaka last week.
More than 500 riot police officers on Thursday last week besieged Chibolya Township and arrested 300 suspects in an operation to clampdown on the illicit drug trade in the densely populated slum.
The operation by police and Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) officers caught residents who woke up to find a heavy presence of armed law enforcement officers by surprise.
Immigration department acting public relations officer, Mubanda Chansa-Chileshe said of the 23 arrested, 10 were Congolese, eight Tanzanians, a Burundian, two Rwandese, a Zimbabwean and a Kenyan.
The two Tanzanians were released upon production of valid travel documents while the Kenyan was released due to an illness.
“The remaining 20 nationals are still in detention as they have not produced any documentation and they will be prosecuted for various immigration offences according to the Immigration and Deportation Act number 18 of 2010,” she said.
Chibolya Township which is near the Central Business District has been known to be a crime zone where people openly trade in drugs and conduct other illegal activities.
This was the first time police and DEC conducted a successful raid to rid the township of illicit activities.
Police have also established a base to ensure that the drug dealers do not resume their operations.

Times of Zambia