Busted for selling counterfeit fertilizer
Police at Jenda in Mzimba are keeping in custody two individuals for allegedly manufacturing and selling counterfeit fertilizer.
The two are George Moyo, an agro dealer plying his trade at Jenda Trading Centre, and his accomplice Samson Kavala.
Their arrest follows investigations by law enforcers instituted following numerous complaints by local farmers about fake fertilizer and seeds being sold by some agro-dealers around Jenda Trading Centre.
“We have been receiving numerous complaints from farmers, and following these complaints, we launched our investigations. During our investigations, police detectives received a tip from well-wishers informing them that some people were mixing fertilizer with soil at a certain bush,” Macfarlen Mseteka, Jenda Police Station Public Relations Officer said.
“After following this tip-off, police detectives’ discovered that Moyo, the Agro dealer, hired Kavala to mix clay soil with agricultural lime and small amounts of fertilizer, making 50 kilograms of counterfeit fertilizer in a bush at Swaswa area, close to Embangweni Trading Centre,” Mseteka explained.
Mseteka said law enforcers then arrested Kavala, who revealed that he was only hired and that some of the fertilizer had already been transported to Moyo’s shop at Jenda Trading Centre for sale.
“Twelve bags of lime as well as twelve bags of fake fertilizer, a heap of clay soil, a sieve, and empty sacks of fertilizer belonging to other companies were found at the scene,” Mseteka said.
He added; “A search at Moyo’s shop led to the seizure of 14 bags of counterfeit fertilizer, an additional 18 bags were seized from his home packed in Paramount branded sacks, and 50 empty sacks with the ETG Logo were discovered at the house. Altogether, 45 bags of counterfeit fertilizer have been seized awaiting Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) analysis.”
Both Moyo and Kavala have been charged with manufacturing of commodity (fertilizer) without the authority of MBS, which is against Section 29, sub-section 1 of the MBS Act, and selling counterfeit products, and they will be taken to court upon completion of paperwork.
Meanwhile, police have asked farmers to be observant when purchasing agricultural inputs to avoid buying counterfeit products.
“Further, we are encouraging them to use certified Agro dealers when buying these inputs to avoid being sold fake products that later affect their yields,” Mseteka said.
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