The government has confiscated cash, minerals and ammunition and returned the aircraft embroiled in a gold scandal that occurred at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in 2023, involving an Egyptian national and certain Zambians.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Gilbert Phiri, moved a motion before the Economic and Financial Crimes Court to have the items found aboard the jet confiscated, as they were tainted accessories to a crime.
The items included US$5.697 million, brass pellets weighing 127.28 kilograms, five pistols with 126 rounds of ammunition, 11 pistol magazines, a drilling machine, and a central processing unit.
In a consent judgment, Egyptian Michael Adel Michell Botros agreed to forfeit US$5 million and the other above-mentioned items to the Zambian government to allow the release of the jet to its owners, cited as Word Aviation Sinai International.
The balance of the cash will be returned to him via his lawyers to cover some costs related to servicing the aircraft to render it air-worthy.
