Kitwe Businesswoman on DEC Watch List Arrested for Cocaine Trafficking

The Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) has arrested a 36-year-old businesswoman from Kitwe for drug trafficking, and a 62-year-old man in Chipata for possession of counterfeit currency, in two separate operations.

In a joint operation involving officers from Kitwe and Lusaka, the DEC apprehended Khadija Mingel, a well-known businesswoman from Kitwe, for trafficking 25 pellets of cocaine weighing 500 grams. The illicit substances were found concealed in a Toyota Mark X she was driving, which has since been seized by the Commission.

According to the DEC, Mingel had been on the Commission’s watch list for some time and is believed to be a notorious supplier operating across the North-Western and Copperbelt provinces.

In a separate incident in Chipata, the Commission arrested Hamusonde Fuehrer, 62, a resident of the Hillview area, for possession of counterfeit currency amounting to K280,000, all in K500 denominations.

DEC Public Relations Officer Allan Tamba confirmed the arrests in a statement issued today.