Mangochi Police swiftly arrests suspects who broke into a liquor store stealing liquor worth K2.3m

* Some of the stolen items were recovered although some of the bottles were found empty

Maravi Express

Police in Mangochi have acted swiftly by arresting four men on allegations of breaking into a liquor store at Soko Trading Centre and fleeing with assorted liquor worth K2.3 million while at the same time recovering some of the stolen items.

A report by Mangochi Police Station public relations officer, lnspector Amina Tepani Daudi, identifies the suspects as Bongani Kachingwe (26), Vincent Makhiringa (32), Maxwell Shafi (20), and Mkwanda Shahid (22).

She said on September 8, the liquor store owner closed the shop at around 01:00hrs, leaving everything intact but the following day, at around 18:00hrs, he discovered that the store had been broken into by unknown criminals who stole various items, including K120,000 in cash, a Q10 Bluetooth radio, 25 packs of Kings cigarettes, three bottles of Jack Daniels whiskey, two bottles of Black Label, five bottles of KWV Brandy, seven bottles of Malawi Gin, and six bottles of Malawi brandy, whose total value of the stolen items is estimated at K2.3 million.

“The matter was reported to Mangochi Police Station and a team of detectives quickly responded,” says Inspector Tepani in her report. “Through intelligence gathering, the four suspects were arrested within the township [yesterday] on September 12, 2024.

“Police have recovered some of the stolen property, although some of the bottles were found empty and investigations are ongoing to recover the remaining items.

“The suspects will appear in court to answer charges of breaking into a building and committing a felony, contrary to Section 311 of the Penal Code,” says Tepani.

Kachingwe hails from Njolomole Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Njolomole in Ntcheu; Shahid is from Matchaya Village, T/A Mlomba in Machinga while Makhiringa and Shafi are from Mtalimanja Village, T/A Mapira in Mangochi.