11 Members on Plane from Egypt have Been Charged with Espionage and Denied bail in Zambia.

Zambia has prevented the release on bail of five Egyptian individuals and six Zambian nationals who faced espionage charges. These charges stemmed from their unauthorised entry into a restricted area of Lusaka airport. This development occurred approximately two weeks after Zambian authorities had reported the seizure of their aircraft, which was found to contain firearms, ammunition, cash, and counterfeit gold.

On Monday, a magistrate's court in Lusaka charged the men. However, on Tuesday, Magistrate Davies Chibwili postponed their bail application to the following day, after the defence rejected a prosecutor's certificate denying bail to them.

"The state must give reasons as to why accused persons whose liberties to freedom are being taken away must be denied bail," defence lawyer Martha Mushipe told the court.

The charge sheet did not explicitly mention the aircraft or the confiscated goods. However, lawyers representing the defendants said in a statement that their clients were aboard an airplane that had undergone a search by Zambia's Drug Enforcement Agency on August 13th at Lusaka's primary airport.

The agency said it found about $5.7 million in cash, five pistols, 126 rounds of ammunition and 602 pieces of suspected gold weighing around 127 kilograms on the plane, which had arrived from Cairo.

However, Zambian Mines Minister Paul Kabuswe told journalists two days later that laboratory analysis of the seized metal bars showed that - despite their appearance -- they contained not gold but mainly copper and zinc.

This revelation generated speculation in Zambian press that the suspects were intending on swindling gold buyers in a fake bullion scam.

Two Egyptian security sources said the plane seized in Zambia had been inspected by authorities before leaving Cairo, but that bags with one of the arrested Egyptians were not searched, and this was currently under investigation.