Six people including two pharmacy owners have been arrested for the illegal sale of HIV and Malaria test kits in Lusaka.

The arrests were made after evidence was gathered during a five-month-long investigation by the United States agency for international development office of inspector general.

According to a statement issued to Phoenix News by the U.S embassy, in the weeks prior to the arrests, USAID carried out joint investigative work with the Zambia National Task Force consisting of the Drug Enforcement Commission, Zambia Medical Regulatory Authority, Ministry of Health and the Zambia Police.

And USAIDS’s Washington-based OIG Special Agent in charge of overseeing global health investigations, Jonathan Schofield says USAID works closely with international partners to thwart the work of criminals who prey upon the U.S, adding that the recent work with partners in the U.S embassy in Zambia and Zambia National Task Force has stopped several offenders who exploited international aid for personal gain.

The US government provides HIV and anti-malarial test kits, along with other health commodities, under the US president’s emergency plan for aids relief and the president’s malaria initiative, and through contributions to the global fund to fight aids, tuberculosis, and malaria.

Officials visited pharmacies in Lusaka to determine if US government-funded products were being sold for profit and during these visits, USAID identified individuals involved in the illegal sale of stolen HIV and malaria test kits, which were later confirmed to have been provided through US government and the global fund programs.

Following the arrests, six individuals are considered the main targets of the investigation and remain in jail while the remaining seven have been released by authorities after they secured bail on condition that they return for further questioning.