Malawi and United States security personnel have jointly arrested six suspected drug traffickers allegedly linked to a Mexican cartel.

Deputy police spokesperson Harry Namwaza has confirmed the development, adding that the suspects were arrested at Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe on Saturday.

According to Namwaza, the suspects had a link with a Nigerian national, Mike Chukwu, 44, who was reportedly at the airport to welcome the group and has also been arrested.

"We carried an operation with military precision, and intelligence shared by the US Embassy in Lilongwe, which alerted Malawian authorities of the suspects’ impending arrival" .Namwaza added.

Those arrested have been identified as Cristhian Jovanny Hernandez, 30; Luiz Armando Ramirez, 44; Mario Picas, 32; Armando Hernandez, 32; Adrian Angulo, 30; and Panfilo Hernandez, 27—all Mexican nationals.