By SYLVIA MWEETWA and
CHARITY MOONGA-
MORE than 60 Somali and Ethiopian suspected illegal immigrants have been intercepted in Kapiri Mposhi.
Alert police and Road Development Agency (RDA) officers on Saturday afternoon intercepted a foreign truck which was laden with 67 Somalis and Ethiopians who were en route to South Africa.
The arrest comes barely one week after 48 other Ethiopians were arrested for similar offences.
The prohibited immigrants were detected at the RDA weighbridge when officers noticed through the scanners that the truck that was being weighed did not have goods but people.
The authorities found that the truck had 67 undocumented foreigners from Somalia and Ethiopia.
Kapiri Mposhi District Commissioner Beatrice Sikazwe and Central Province Police Commissioner Standwell Lungu confirmed the incident in separate interviews yesterday.
The prohibited foreigners were also being screened for Ebola.
Ms Sikazwe said when the truck was stopped and the prohibited immigrants were spotted, the foreigners attempted to run away but were stopped with the help of onlookers.
She said Kapiri Mposhi had intensified patrols to ensure that illegal immigrants did not find their way into other districts in Zambia.
Mr Lungu also said the immigrants had been handed over to the Immigration Department who would then assess their nationalities.
He said a Scania truck registration number T462AHV that was carrying the immigrants had since been impounded and police were holding the driver to help with investigations.
“I can confirm that our officers on Saturday intercepted a truck which was loaded with 67 prohibited immigrants and this happened at the customs scanning point when officers realised that what the truck was carrying were people and not goods,” Mr Lungu said.
Immigration Department public relations manager Namati Nshinka said in a statement that the illegal immigrants were discovered by Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) officers.
Meanwhile, the magistrates’ court in Kabwe on Friday convicted the 48 Ethiopians who were on September 15, 2014 intercepted in a Tanzanian containerised Scania truck registration number T977 BFT for unlawful presence.
The 48 were sentenced to K1,000 each or in default 12 months simple imprisonment.  The driver of the truck is yet to appear in court.
In a related development, combined security wings yesterday swung into action and arrested 35 congregants from Global Impact ministries in Marapodi.
Home Affairs Ministry head of public relations Moses Siwali confirmed the development in an interview yesterday.
Mr Siwali said the security wings had received information from members of the public that Global Impact ministries had been harbouring foreigners suspected to be criminals.
“We had a combined operation involving the registrar of societies, immigration and police under the supervision of the chief registrar of societies Mr Kakoma Kanganja,” he said.
He said the suspected illegal immigrants were screened and found wanting as most of the 35 arrested foreigners had no documentation.
Mr Siwali said that the suspected illegal immigrants were from the Democratic Republic of Congo and would be charged with illegal entry and stay in Zambia.
He warned those entering into deals with illegal immigrants of stern action.