South Africa: Two Mozambicans remanded in custody for drug trafficking

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South Africa: Two Mozambicans remanded in custody for drug trafficking

3:35 CAT | 23 Nov 2022

Image: Lowvelder

Two Mozambicans appeared in the Komatipoort Magistrate’s Court on Monday, November 21, and were remanded in custody, a South African police source told Lusa yesterday.

Armando Machume, 25, and Daniel Francisco-Chivure, 48, were detained by police on Sunday afternoon in the small South African town of Komatipoort, and appeared in the local court on Monday, South African Police (SAPS) spokesperson Dineo Sekgotodi explained.

Komatipoort is located at the confluence of the Crocodilo and Komati rivers (Incomáti, on the Mozambican side), about five kilometres from the border with Mozambique.

The two individuals were detained after they were stopped by the SAPS while travelling along the N4 in a Toyota Quantum taxi van, Sekgotodi said. The police conducted a search of the vehicle and discovered a backpack with two packets containing suspicious substances. The K9 [Canine] Unit was called to the crime scene to verify the substances and a dog reacted positively.

The estimated value of the drugs is R300,000 rand (€16,776), she said, without providing details on the type of drug seized.

“They were the only ones in the van when they were arrested”, underlined the South African police spokesperson, adding that “probably, the passengers they were transporting [from Mozambique] got out of the vehicle before the border to enter South Africa illegally on foot, as usual”.

Sekgotodi said the Mbombela-based Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit was summoned. It took over the investigation and processed the scene, charging the suspects and seizing the exhibits.

The police spokesperson added that the court postponed the case to November 29 for a formal bail application.

Source: Lusa / Lowvelder