Hidden Debts: bribery at heart of corrupt projects - AIM report
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The Mozambican police have arrested a gang of stock thieves in Messica, in the central province of Manica, which included a member of the police force, who had worked at a police station in the provincial capital, Chimoio.
According to a report in the Beira daily “Diario de Mocambique”, the arrests began last Wednesday when the police seized gang member Edson Baptista who was transporting the carcasses of two head of cattle that had just been slaughtered.
The thieves stole cattle from local livestock farmers, slaughtered the animals clandestinely, and then sold the meat illegally in Chimoio.
Three other members of the gang were also in the vehicle, a Toyota Hilux pick-up truck, but managed to escape. The police were only able to detain the driver, Baptista.
An angry crowd gathered, who wanted to lynch Baptista, and the police fired in the air to disperse them. The crowd was unable to harm Baptista, but they vandalized the truck, which is now in police custody.
On Thursday, the police arrested the supposed leader of the group, Edmundo Alberto, who was about to sell the head of a cow, which was found in the trunk of his car, a Toyota Corolla. This also led to the detention of the policeman-turned-thief, Sevelino Francisco, who was in possession of a key to the Toyota Corolla.
Later that day, Francisco was shown to reporters in Chimoio, in the presence of the Manica Provincial Police Commander, Armando Canhenze.
Canhenze declared that the mission of the police is to ensure the safety of the public, and never to ally themselves with criminals. Francisco’s behavior “brings disgrace to this uniform”, he said. “We shall take action”.
The spokesperson for the Provincial Police Command, Elsidia Filipe, confirmed to reporters that Francisco is now facing disciplinary and criminal proceedings.
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