Police Intercept Illegal Ethiopian Migrants

1 June 2011

Maputo — Police in the northern Mozambican province of Nampula have arrested two truck drivers who were transporting about 70 illegal Ethiopian immigrants southwards, reports Wednesday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”.

Initially the Ethiopians claimed refugee status, and were accommodated in the Maratane refugee camp in Nampula. But they had no intention of staying there, and hired the two drivers to take them to Chimoio, capital of the central province of Manica. From there, they intended to make their way in smaller groups to South Africa and Zimbabwe.

The spokesperson for the Nampula Provincial Police command, Inacio Dina, said a police brigade pursued the two trucks, and that, after the vehicles came to a halt, one of the drivers tried to escape, running into the bush. He was shot in the arm and leg.

The police also seized a sum of 80,000 meticais (about 2,670 US dollars) intended to provide food for the Ethiopians and the drivers during the journey. The drivers told the police they had each been paid 50,000 meticais to transport the migrants.

The driver who was shot said this was not the first time he had sold his services to illegal migrants. He said that vehicles carrying migrants now avoided the main north-south highway, and used side roads, in the hope of evading the police.

Dina said the police were drawing up further operations to dismantle the whole scheme of illegal transport of foreigners out of the Maratane camp. This would concentrate on investigations into who was behind the network supplying vehicles for this illicit purpose.

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