200 kg of suruma seized in Moatize; driver and conductor held
SERNIC seized about 200 kg of cannabis sativa, known as suruma, hidden in calamidade clothing bales in a minibus at the Mboza checkpoint in Moatize, Tete, bound for Angonia. The driver and conductor were detained, while SERNIC said the cannabis came from Eswatini and could have yielded almost six million meticais.
SERNIC seized about 200 kilograms of cannabis sativa, known locally as suruma,
at the Mboza checkpoint in Moatize district, Tete.[1]In connection with the
case, SERNIC detained the driver and the conductor of the vehicle.[2]The
owners of the consignment remained at large while the driver and conductor were
held.[3]The suspects said they had only agreed to carry a parcel handed over
by a client at the Tete city bus terminal for delivery to a guesthouse in
Ulongue town.[3]
The cannabis was travelling in interdistrict semi-collective passenger
transport, hidden in bales of second-hand clothing known locally as calamidade.[2]The load was presented as calamidade clothing allegedly bound for Angonia
district.[3]SERNIC spokesperson Celina Roque said the cannabis came from the
Kingdom of Eswatini and was ultimately bound for Angonia.[3]SERNIC estimated
the consignment could have yielded almost six million meticais to the criminal
network.[3]
The seizure resulted from search actions carried out by the authorities at the
checkpoint.[3]The minibus used for the transport was also seized after its
passengers were transferred to other vehicles.[3]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Incident date is set to 10 August 2025 because Jornal Notícias on 11 August says the cannabis was seized yesterday, while Rádio Moçambique on 12 August also says yesterday, a one-day discrepancy.
The checkpoint is spelled Mboza by Rádio Moçambique and Nboza by Jornal Notícias; Mboza is used in the report.
The quantity is approximate, reported as cerca de 200 quilogramas.
The almost six million meticais is SERNIC's estimate of what the network could have gained, not a confirmed sale value.
No names, ages, charges or court outcome for the two detained men were reported.
Police in Govuro district, Inhambane, detained a 38-year-old transporter and seized 240 kg of cannabis packed in seven suitcases at the Save checkpoint. The PRM said the load came from South Africa and was headed for Manica province.
Mozambique's police detained five people in Tete after a dog unit found 21 kg of cannabis hidden in a long-distance truck from Maputo. The drug was packed in 33 parcels among beauty products and animal feed, and a sixth suspect fled.
Maputo police detained a man with 120 bundles of suruma weighing about 100 kg, brought from South Africa in a passenger vehicle and intercepted at the Junta Bus Terminal as he tried to dispatch the load to Tete. Terminal staff raised the alarm after the suspect left before completing shipment.
Sernic officers raided a house in Sampene, Quelimane on 18 March 2021 and seized 180 kg of cannabis alongside large amounts of heroin and morphine, detaining people including the Tanzanian tenant. Sernic said the drugs came from Tanzania and Quelimane was used as a reception and distribution point for onward movement to Maputo and South Africa.
