Maputo, 22 Jul (AIM) – A Mozambican police agent was shot dead on Saturday during a shoot-out with criminals who were kidnapping a shopkeeper of Asian origin in central Maputo.
The initial report of the kidnapping, given to reporters by the Maputo city police spokesperson Leonel Muchina, did not mention the death of the policeman.
The more detailed information now available says that police attempted to prevent the kidnapping, but were unsuccessful. There was an exchange of fire between the police and the kidnappers, in which one policeman lost his life.
Eye-witnesses say there were four kidnappers, all of them armed. It is not clear whether any of them were hit in the exchange of fire.
The police say they found the vehicle used in the kidnapping abandoned in the city of Matola. It was riddled with bullet holes.
The police noted that Matola has been the preferred site for kidnap gangs to establish their hideouts, and private prisons where they keep their victims hidden.
The police assume that the kidnapped shopkeeper (whose name has not been released) is now being held somewhere in Matola.
“We are working firmly to clear up this crime”, said a police spokesperson cited by the independent television station STV. “All operational lines and all information in the possession of the investigators will be used to solve the crime”.
(AIM)
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