Mozambique: Anarchy in semi-public transport, “chapas”, seems to be far from over
Mozambique: Man detained at airport on suspicion of trafficking 16 others to Vietnam – report
1:17 CAT | 21 May 2025
FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: DW]
The National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) announced that it has arrested a Mozambican citizen accused of involvement in human trafficking by recruiting 16 individuals in Sofala province, central Mozambique, to send to Vietnam.
Speaking to Lusa, SERNIC spokesperson João Adriano explained that the man was seized at Maputo International Airport on Tuesday afternoon as he was trying to board a flight bound for Vietnam with 16 men, all from Sofala, at the behest of a businessman of Chinese origin.
“This individual met [the Chinese businessman] when he worked for him in Sofala. The two exchanged contact details and, in February, this Chinese individual contacted the citizen, asking him to recruit 17 people to work in Vietnam, but he managed to recruit only 16,” Adriano explained.
According to the spokesperson, the suspect received money from the son of the Chinese citizen who was in Tete province, in the centre of the country, to pay for the issuing of passports and visas for those interested in the opportunity to work in a paper factory in Vietnam.
Adriano explained that the suspicion of human trafficking arose because the citizens had 30-day tourist visas, “despite claiming that they were travelling for work reasons”, and “because they did not have any type of document identifying the company”.
“The police suspect that this is a case of human trafficking for the purpose of exploitation, perhaps as cheap labour,” João Adriano pointed out.
Adriano said that, after “some due diligence”, the 16 individuals would probably be released, “because there is no reason to detain them”.
Source: Lusa
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