Mozambique: Police dismantle medicine theft scheme at Beira Central Hospital

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Mozambique: Police dismantle medicine theft scheme at Beira Central Hospital

8:24 CAT | 08 Oct 2025

Photo: Miramar

Two people have been arrested in connection with an alleged drug theft scheme at Beira Central Hospital (HCB), Mozambique’s second largest hospital, in Sofala province, in the centre of the country, the police announced on Tuesday.

According to the spokesman for the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) in Sofala, Alfeu Sitoe, the arrest of the first accused, a 60-year-old security guard at the hospital, took place when the authorities seized medicines from the National Health System from the possession of a man on 25 September, who named the official as the supplier.

“The man claims that the citizen arrested in Machanga is his father-in-law and that he gave him these medicines for sale and later sent him valuables, although he was unable to quantify the amount he was going to receive from this deal,” said the spokesman at the press conference held yesterday in the city of Beira.

Sitoe said that in the searches carried out at the suspect’s house, several hundred medicines and other clinical products were found: “He, in turn, pointed out the woman, who is a pharmacy technician at the emergency pharmacy at Beira Central Hospital, which means that there was a scheme to take drugs and then deliver them to third parties for sale.”

The police also said that the 49-year-old woman was arrested on 3 October, and acknowledged having supplied medicines, but refused to do so in exchange for money.

“We’d like to call on the heads of the sectors – pharmacy, security, warehousing and other similar areas in the hospitals – to take control of the medicines, because there’s no justification for quantities like this to have left the pharmacy, taken by a pharmacy technician without a prescription,” he appealed, saying that it was “dangerous” for unsupervised drugs to leave the facilities.

According to Alfeu Sitoe, efforts are underway to identify others involved in these alleged schemes involving hospital staff.

Mozambique’s Health Minister acknowledged in August that “a lot of medicine is stolen” in the country’s hospitals, saying that “it all disappears” in less than 15 days after the drugs are distributed in the units.

“I also ask for your help in controlling the theft of medicines, a lot of medicine is stolen in the hospitals,” said Ussene Isse, saying that the Mozambican state buys medicines that “are even left over” for the country, but run out in a short time due to cases of theft.

Since January, Mozambique’s government has expelled at least 15 civil servants from the state apparatus for their involvement in the theft of medicines from health facilities, Lusa reported on 31 July.

Source: Lusa