Teacher, 37, arrested airport after stash of foreign cash is found hidden in plastic bag inside his suitcase

A 37-year-old Malawian teacher of Asian origin has been dramatically arrested at Bakili Muluzi International Airport after customs officials discovered a hidden stash of foreign currency concealed in his luggage — just as he was about to board a flight to South Africa.

Suhel Shirajamed Gangat was stopped in his tracks when his two suitcases were put through routine scanning at the airport, formerly known as Chileka, triggering a search that uncovered the undeclared cash.

Airport police spokesperson Dorrah Machila Chathyoka revealed the full scale of the discovery, confirming officers found a staggering R40,000 — roughly K4.8 million — concealed in a plastic bag hidden among Gangat’s belongings.

“He was bound for South Africa when he had his two suitcases scanned. A further search physically found R40,000 concealed in a plastic bag by the suspect,” Chathyoka said.

When confronted and asked to produce supporting documentation for the cash, Gangat was unable to provide any justification — a failure that led directly to his arrest and the immediate seizure of the money.

“Asked about the supporting document, Gangat failed to account for it, leading to his arrest and seizure of the cash,” Chathyoka confirmed. “Meanwhile, Gangat has been charged with illegal possession of foreign currency and he is due to appear in court.”

Background: a country starved of hard currency

The arrest comes amid a severe and deepening foreign exchange crisis gripping Malawi, with banks currently restricting individual customers to a maximum of just $200 in forex disbursements — a cap branded a “slap in the face” to entrepreneurs and ordinary Malawians by critics, as the economy continues to buckle under crushing forex shortages.

The scarcity of hard currency has fuelled a thriving parallel market, with dealers offering vastly inflated rates far beyond the official exchange, as desperate businesses and individuals scramble for the dollars, pounds and rand they need to trade, travel and survive.

Strict controls on the movement of undeclared foreign currency — like those enforced in Gangat’s case — form part of the government’s broader effort to clamp down on illegal cash flight and protect what little foreign currency remains within Malawi’s formal banking channels, amid mounting pressure to stem the outflow of a resource the country can increasingly ill afford to lose.