Police in Chimoio, the capital of Manica province in central Mozambique, detained four people accused of trafficking, selling and consuming drugs.[1] The four detainees are between 25 and 45 years old and include two women.[1]

Officers found 14 kilograms of cannabis sativa, known locally as soruma, in their possession.[1] Mateus Mindu, spokesman for the provincial command of Mozambique’s Republic Police (PRM), said the group tried without success to bribe the officers with 21,000 meticais, about 330 US dollars.[1]

Mindu said a separate file on active corruption would be opened against those involved.[1] The case file was handed to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for the next steps.[1] Police said the drug appeared to have been produced outside Manica province and that they believed the group has more members.[1] Mindu said information still being checked indicated the drug was produced outside Mozambique, and that police wanted to identify and hold all members of the network responsible.[1]

One of the women in custody said she received the drug as an order in Chimoio, that it came from outside Manica, and that she had sold soruma before.[1] She denied trying to bribe the police, saying officers found 5,000 meticais at her home and asked her for more money before presenting 21,000 meticais as an attempted bribe.[1] A second detainee said officers dug inside his home and found some soruma buried there, and that he used it rather than selling it.[1] He said he had smoked soruma for three years and never sold it.[1]