Cops impound ‘cooking’ oil

KABWE – Police in Kabwe have impounded 39 210-litre drums of oil suspected to have been illegally obtained by a local businessman.
Central Province police commanding officer Charity Munganga said the oil was found hidden in a house in Nakoli Township.
Ms Munganga said the businessman, Cephas Tembo, claimed to have bought it from a truck driver from South Africa and wanted to sell it as cooking oil.
She said the product will be held by the State until the content is ascertained and the source verified.
Ms Munganga observed that Central Province has seen an increase in cases of products being bought in transit.
“In some cases, the truck drivers hired to transport goods sell them without consent from the owners,” she said.
Ms Munganga said Mr Tembo will be charged with being in possession of goods suspected to have been illegally obtained.Central Province Permanent Secretary Milner Mwanakampwe cautioned businessmen against buying and selling products that are not labelled.
“Businessmen could be selling counterfeit or substandard goods to the public,” he said.
Mr Tembo said he has been unable to contact the transporter who sold him the oil.
“I did not know that it was an offence to buy or sell products whose origins are not known,” he said. ZANIS