Maputo, 16 Jun (AIM) – Mozambique’s National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) has seized 3.7 tonnes of fentanyl in a warehouse of a private company at Maputo Airport.
The drugs were found packaged in 50 boxes, each containing 30 packets of 2.2 kilos, totalling 1,500 packets. This is one of the largest drug seizures ever made by authorities in the country.
According to Hilário Lole, SERNIC spokesperson, speaking to reporters, the case involves an international drug trafficking network “and the substance was initially declared as multivitamins.”
However, laboratory tests found out that these are illegal and highly dangerous substances, consisting of denadryl and fentanyl.
During the operation, carried out under efforts to prevent and combat drug trafficking last Friday, a Mozambican national was arrested.
The arrestee claimed that the owner of the drugs was a Nigerian national, who has since also been detained by the authorities.
“This seizure, particularly of fentanyl, represents an important milestone in the fight against drugs in the country, considering that this drug has an extremely high destructive potential on the health of those who consume it”, the spokesperson said.
“It is more potent than heroin, morphine and cocaine. It also involves extremely potent synthetic opioids that can cause severe depression of the central nervous system, leading to intense drowsiness, confusion, breathing difficulties and risk of death”, he added.
Investigations into the case point to an international drug trafficking scheme, as SERNIC had prior knowledge of the shipment, initially believed to be coming from Brazil, but which was ultimately “dispatched from India to Maputo, transiting through Doha”.
The operation included surveillance at the airport to arrest suspects who would attempt to collect the cargo, with investigators identifying a scheme involving the recruitment of local employees.
“It was found that they had put in place mechanisms to recruit Customs officials to collect the cargo,” Lole said.
Am/
