Mozambique: Police seizes 573kg of cocaine brought by ship from India

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Mozambique: Police seizes 573kg of cocaine brought by ship from India

5:02 CAT | 11 Nov 2024

Photo: Notícias

Mozambican police seized 573 kilograms of cocaine in the Port of Maputo, in a container on a ship from India, the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) announced today.

“There are a total of 573 kilograms of cocaine, which were in 20 25-litre drums, in a container carrying construction material,” said SERNIVC spokesperson Hilário Lole at a press conference in Maputo, explaining that the seizure took place on Wednesday (November 6).

According to the spokesperson, the seizure of the drugs occurred after the police receiving a tip off about the existence of “dubious merchandise” in one of the several containers of the ship from India, which had docked on November 3. This led to the creation of a multi-sector investigation team.

After laboratory tests on the white substance in the 20 seized drums, it was concluded that it was cocaine, Lole said, adding that new investigations are now underway to identify the owners of the merchandise and to determine the final destination of the drug.

“So far, we have not arrested anyone (…). Investigations are currently underway”, said the SERNIC spokesperson, appealing for the collaboration of society and other entities in the fight against organized crime.

More than 2.5 tons of cocaine, heroin and cannabis were seized in Mozambique in 2023, an increase compared to 2022, and were valued at 1.816 billion euros, according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office report.

The annual report of the Central Office for the Prevention and Combat of Drugs states that “a considerable increase in the number of arrests for international drug trafficking was recorded” in 2023 and that “traffickers have continued to seek to use the country to transit drugs to different parts of the world”.

In the context of drug trafficking and consumption crimes, 923 people, 64 of whom were women, were arrested in 2023 by the Mozambican police, a slight reduction compared to the previous year, with 306 people in pre-trial detention and 617 convicted.

According to the report, drug traffickers in Mozambique use the Afghanistan – Pakistan – Pemba – Zambézia – Maputo – South Africa routes for the international trafficking of methamphetamines, heroin and amphetamines. In the case of cocaine, they use the São Paulo – Addis Ababa – Maputo – South Africa route.

Source: Lusa