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The Zambian Department of Immigration has apprehended a Livingstone couple for attempting to smuggle three Zimbabwean children, aged between four and 12, into Zambia.
Humphrey Likando, 62, and Maggie Phiri, 51, of House No. DB187 in Dambwa Central, were arrested on March 7, 2025, at Victoria Falls Border Control after immigration officers intercepted their hired taxi transporting the children.
Department of Immigration Public Relations Officer Namati Nshinka confirmed the arrest in a statement issued in Lusaka on Tuesday.
He said officers stopped taxi driver James Simaundu, 30, who was transporting the children but failed to provide a satisfactory account of their identities or origins.
Upon further questioning, Simaundu revealed that he had been hired by the couple to bring the children into Zambia.
“The couple was subsequently detained, pending further investigations. The children have been placed under the care of the Department of Social Welfare,” Nshinka said.
Meanwhile, in a routine operation conducted on March 8, 2025, the Lusaka Regional Immigration Office apprehended 34 individuals for immigration violations.
The operation targeted areas including Matero, Kanyama, and Chilenje, resulting in the arrest of 30 Burundians and four Congolese for lacking documentation and engaging in business activities without the necessary permits.
“All individuals are currently detained pending further screening and possible prosecution,” Nshinka said.
He added that the combined operations in Victoria Falls and Lusaka brought the total number of individuals apprehended for various immigration offences between March 7 and 9, 2025, to 88.
In a separate operation, the Department of Immigration in Lusaka conducted a mass deportation exercise on March 8, 2025, removing 82 illegal immigrants of various nationalities.
The deportees included 65 Burundians, 13 Tanzanians, two Rwandese, one Congolese, and one Ugandan.
Read More: Lusaka, Nyimba raids lead to arrest of 39 illegal immigrants by Immigration office
“Many of those removed had paid court fines for immigration offences and had been detained pending removal,” Nshinka said.
This brings the total number of illegal immigrants deported between March 7 and 9, 2025, to 130.
In a separate case, the Lundazi Magistrate Court convicted and sentenced Philip Mtonga, 27, to a fine of K3,000 or, in default, six months’ simple imprisonment for obstructing immigration officers.
Mtonga was arrested on February 11, 2025, in Lumezi District’s Zumwandi area after he attempted to interfere with an operation, leading to the temporary escape of a suspect who was later apprehended.
Nshinka said this conviction brings the total number of immigration-related convictions secured between March 7 and 9, 2025, to 21.
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