Zambia: A 36-year-old male nurse from Luwingu District Hospital in Northern Province has been arrested for illegally selling medicine and drugs. The officials believed that the drugs and medicines in question were the property of the government.
The nurse has been identified as Christopher Chirwa of Chelstone compound in Luwingu District. The suspect was arrested this morning by a joint team of the Drug Enforcement Commission, Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority (ZAMRA), and police after an operation.
The officials have shared the circumstances of the arrest of the medical practitioner and claimed that he was selling drugs and medicines illegally.
Northern Province Commanding Officer, Lucky Munkondya, confirmed the development. Further, she revealed that the joint operation team arrested Chirwa after his shop was found stocked with medical drugs and supplies property of the government of the Republic of Zambia.
She said the contraband was displayed for sale in his shop at the Luwingu main market.
She named some of the drugs discovered as coartem, boxes of bezathane penicillin, syringes, malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDT) and boxes of surgical gloves.
Meanwhile, District Commanding Officer, Munkondya said the matter will be prosecuted by the Drug Enforcement Commission any time soon. The officials also revealed that the suspect, Chirwa, who is a nurse in the Luwingu District Hospital, is in police custody, awaiting court proceedings.
The dates or other information about the beginning of the court proceedings are not currently available. Meanwhile, the Drug Enforcement Commission, Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority (ZAMRA), and the Northern Province police Force are taking the incident extremely seriously.
The illegal sale and purchase of medicinal drugs is an offence punishable by the Law and order of Zambia. If Christopher Chirwa is convicted of the crime in the court proceedings, the offender shall be liable to an unlimited fine. The fine can not be less than 500 penalty units.
Meanwhile, the court can also sentence him to prison for upto fifteen years. The court can, if it wills, sentence the offender to comply with both.