923 people arrested for drug trafficking in 2023

Maputo, 10 Apr (AIM) – The Mozambican authorities arrested, over the last year, 923 Mozambican and foreign citizens for drug trafficking, according to the annual report on the evolution of illicit drug consumption and trafficking in the country.

According to the government spokesperson and deputy justice minister, Filimão Suaze, who was speaking to reporters at the end of a meeting of the Council of Ministers (Cabinet), in Maputo, over the same period, the authorities seized 3,596 kilos of drugs, incinerated around 2.5 tonnes of various drugs and destroyed several fields of cannabis, colloquially known as soruma.

The annual report, which was drawn up by the Central Office for Preventing and Combating Drugs, will now be submitted to the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, for its consideration.

Suaze also explained that the health authorities had reintegrated into society 1,034 drug users, which corresponds to a 30 percent increase compared to 2022.

“The authorities also carried out 1,933 home visits to provide psycho-social support to drug users, compared to 1,580 in 2022, which is an increase of 24.79 per cent. The health units that provide psychiatric and mental health services treated 13,479 patients with mental and behavioral disorders resulting from the use of psychotropic substances”, he said.

According to Suaze, during 2023, 19,850 lectures on drug addiction were given, reaching more than 1.9 million people, which is an increase of 15.51 per cent compared to 2022.

“There has been an increase in the number of initiatives to raise awareness among society, particularly among teenagers and young people about the harms of drug use”, said Suaze.

(AIM)

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