The suspects, two Drivers and Assistant driver namely Luka Majawa, Kamwaza Joe Dula, and Patrick White were arrested on December 2 last year at Kamuzu Bridge Roadblock in transit to Blantyre from Ngabu.

They pleaded not guilty to the charge of being in possession of goods suspected to have been stolen.

After State and Defence Lawyers presented their oral submissions at the court on Monday, First Grade Magistrate Gladstone Chirundu said it was surprising that the suspects had refused to disclose to police the owner of the fertilizer, wondering how such a huge tonnage could be taken from rural area to urban considering that Ngabu area has no fertilizer factory.

The Magistrate also stated that it was worrying hearing reports of some unknown people calling and threatening police officers to drop the matter.

The case has been adjourned to 27 January this year.

The two trucks full of bags of fertilizer are still at Chikwawa police station.

Others are linking the fertilizer to the Affordable Input program as the majority of poor farmers in Lowershire struggled to access the cheap farm inputs.