Malawi suspects wanted for staging fake funeral procession to smuggle charcoalAt least nine people are on the run after they were caught smuggling charcoal in a hearse, complete with a fake funeral procession, Malawi police and forestry officials said on Monday. Charcoal smuggling is common in the southern African country and one of the main causes of rampant deforestation – although this method of transporting the illicit goods was new. Forestry officers acted on a tip to intercept the “funeral” procession at a roadblock, a forestry official in Chikwawa, 40 km (25 miles) south of the commercial city of Blantyre, told Reuters. The suspects were briefly detained, but later escaped custody leaving behind the impounded hearse, Nkawihe said. A police spokesman confirmed the incident to Reuters and said the suspects remained at large and had not yet been charged.

Source: Daily Nation February 16, 2026 19:58 UTC