ACB Acting Director General Hillary Chilomba confirmed the development, stating that the arrests follow reports of rampant corruption at the department. "We decided to raid the Immigration offices in Lilongwe in response to reports of corrupt practices at the department," Chilomba added.

Chilomba noted that people seeking services had been paying up to K200,000 for assistance with obtaining a K50,000 passport, prompting the search operation.

Commissioner for Operations at the Immigration Department, Fletcher Nyirenda, remarked that despite the arrests, there has been progress since the resumption of services. "We are now producing over 900 booklets per day, which is helping us reduce the backlog of applications," said Nyirenda.

Chairperson for the Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Security, Salim Bagus, has called for swift action to address the alleged corrupt practices.

On Wednesday, the Immigration Department resumed passport services in Blantyre to reduce the number of pending applications.