Mozambique: SERNIC detains woman for faking her own kidnapping
FILE - A dhow with an Iranian crew of 13 was seized off the coast in mid December carrying at least a tonne of heroin. The crew set the boat on fire and the drugs were destroyed. [File photo: Web Mais]
For decades there were no heroin seizures in Mozambique. The trade was tightly controlled by the Frelimo leadership. Heroin from Afghanistan was carried in dhows from the Makran coast of Pakistan to the coast of Cabo Delgado, than transported by road to South Africa, where most was sent on to Europe. The deal was that if none of the heroin stayed in Mozambique and the party and police received a substantial commission, the trade would be permitted. In 2018 we did a major report on the trade which suggested that 40 tonnes per year of heroin passed through Mozambique adding up to $100 mn/y to the local economy: http://bit.ly/Moz-heroin in English and http://bit.ly/Moz-heroina in Portuguese.
But there have been four significant heroin seizures in recent months:
+ A dhow with an Iranian crew of 13 was seized off the coast in mid December carrying at least a tonne of heroin. The crew set the boat on fire and the drugs were destroyed.
+ A dhow with a Pakistani crew of 13 carrying 450 kg of heroin and methamphetamine ran aground off Pemba on 23 December and the cargo was seized and the crew arrested. Police said the drugs were intended for three groups in Tanzania.
+ Maputo City Court in February sentenced a 66 year old US citizen, Rodney Baldus, to 18 years for smuggling 4.6 kilos of heroin which was destined for Italy. Baldus was caught at Maputo airport.
+ In February three people, two Mozambicans and one from Ivory Coast, were convicted of carrying 15 kg of heroin from South Africa. They were caught at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.
What follows is pure speculation. First, drug routes shift regularly in response to crackdowns and attempts to control the trade and we suggest such shifts. Second, there is growing competition in Mozambique, and raids could be attempts to block competition to the traditional Frelimo-licenced heroin traders.
Times of India quoted the Narcotics Control Bureau to say the Delhi arrests show a new route through which heroin was being sent from Afghanistan to Mozambique and South Africa and then routed to India and other Asian countries. The excellent and accurate 2018 BBC series McMafia by Misha Glenny portrays heroin being passed over the border from Pakistan to India and then being put into containers in Mumbai port to be sent to Africa; it is believed some heroin has gone to Beira port via this route. It is possible that tensions between India and Pakistan have closed the border to the heroin traffic, and to support local demand the route has been reversed and heroin now goes from Mozambique to India. The Pakistani dhow which ran aground was said to have heroin and methamphetamine for Tanzania, which confirms a route change we noted two years ago. Kenya and Tanzania have both cracked down on heroin smuggling, so the dhows simply go further south to Cabo Delgado. Control in Tanzania may now be so tight the heroin has to arrive via Mozambique.
WhatsApp, Telegram and other encrypted social media mean the personal contact is no longer needed. A shipment from Afghanistan to Mozambique and then to Johannesburg passes through many hands. but in Uber-fashion, it can all be organised on the phone. This opens space for competition to the Frelimo licensed trading groups, who may be working with police and customs officials to target new un-licensed traders.
Most dhows are allegedly Pakistani, but sanctions on Iran may be increasing pressure there leading to Iranian dhows or crews competing with existing ones. Was there a tip off? Did the dhow with heroin from Pakistan really run aground, or was their a tip off because the trade back to Tanzania is not authorised? Rodney Baldus taking a large amount of heroin out via Maputo airport seems unusual, which suggests a trader testing a new route. Was he caught by the airports new use of dogs, or was it a tip-off?
Only speculation. But four seizures in three months suggests something is changing.
By Joseph Hanlon
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