SERNIC officers in Sofala detained two FADM soldiers in Manga, Beira, seizing one kilogram of cannabis sativa known locally as suruma and intended for Dondo. The men, aged 29 and 32, were held for legal proceedings while police searched for their supplier.
SERNIC officers in Sofala detained two members of Mozambique’s Armed Defence
Forces (FADM) accused of selling and consuming suruma, the local name for
cannabis sativa.[1][2]Jornal Notícias identified them as 32-year-old A. António
and 29-year-old B. Belém.[3]SERNIC said the two are soldiers assigned to the
Dondo barracks.[1][4]They had been detained on 17 January in the city of Beira.[5]They were in SERNIC custody awaiting legal steps toward their trial.[1]They refused to speak to the press and have neither confirmed nor denied the
allegations.[1]
Officers caught them with one kilogram of cannabis sativa, known as suruma, in
Beira after it had been prepared, with Dondo as its intended destination.[1][2]Jornal Notícias placed the seizure in the Manga zone of Beira.[3]SERNIC said
they intended to carry the drug to Dondo and police had no doubt it was meant
for sale.[3][4]SERNIC described it as Swazi-origin cannabis already prepared for
sale, bought for 5,000 meticais.[3]The two told officers they had just bought
it from an unknown person in Manga.[3]They had travelled from Dondo to Beira
in a black Toyota Fielder with registration ABM-635 MP to acquire the cannabis.[6]A vehicle was also seized in the detention.[5]
SERNIC spokesman in Sofala Alfeu Sitoe announced the case and called involvement
by security-force members in drugs condemnable.[3]SERNIC said work was under
way to locate the alleged supplier, who was not detained with them.[5][4]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
O Paísopais.co.mzPTDetidos dois oficiais das FDS indiciados de venda e consumo de soruma
Rádio Paxradiopax.orgPTMILITARES DETIDOS INDICIADOS NO CRIME DE VENDA DE DROGAS NA BEIRA.
Zumbo FMzumbofm.comPTSofala: Detidos dois militares acusados de venda de drogas
Open questions the AI reported
The incident date of 17 January 2024 is the detention date reported by Rádio Pax and Zumbo FM; 25 January 2024 is the presentation and publication date in Rádio Moçambique.
Zumbo FM opens by placing the detention in Dondo district while its own detail and the other sources place the seizure and detention in Beira and Manga; the report uses Beira.
Only initials and ages were published, so full names were not reported.
No charges, custody ruling or court outcome were reported beyond awaiting legal steps toward trial.
The 5,000 meticais is reported as the amount spent to acquire the drug, not an official street valuation, so no value is recorded.
Mozambique's Republican Police detained two people, one Mozambican and one Tanzanian, with 48 kilograms of cannabis sativa, known as suruma, packed into bundles of used clothes and bound for Tanzania. A Maputo police spokesperson said the haul was part of a larger trafficking network and that investigations were continuing.
SERNIC detained four Mozambican nationals in Pemba on 22 June 2024 with 14 kg of hashish found in two vehicles. The case has been sent to the Attorney General's Office while the accused deny involvement and the drug's origin remains unknown.
Police in Chimoio, Manica province, detained four people aged 25 to 45, two of them women, and found 14 kg of cannabis sativa, locally called soruma. The officers said the group tried to bribe them with 21,000 meticais, and the file was sent to the Public Prosecutor's Office with a separate corruption case.
Police in Marínguè district, Sofala, detained a farmer found with 300 kg of cannabis sativa, known as suruma. The drug-combat office said he supplied much of Beira's cannabis and that the seizure would be incinerated the following week.