Malawian authorities, in collaboration with U.S. security agencies, have arrested seven suspected drug lords believed to be connected to a Mexican cartel, according to the country’s Homeland Security Minister, Ezekiel Ching’oma.
The arrests took place during a joint operation at Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe. Six of the suspects were apprehended immediately after disembarking from an Ethiopian Airlines flight. A seventh, a Nigerian national based in Lilongwe, was detained while waiting to receive the others.
“We have confirmed links between these individuals and a Mexican drug cartel. Investigations are ongoing to uncover more details,” Minister Ching’oma stated. He praised the United States for its cooperation, calling the mission a significant success for regional security.
Malawi has increasingly been exploited as a key route for drug trafficking, particularly for heroin moving from East Africa to South Africa and Eswatini, according to the ENACT Africa organized crime index. The country is also used as a transit hub for cocaine smuggled from Mozambique en route to Europe and Asia.