Intelligence Operation Intercepts Nighttime Timber Smuggling from Mocímboa da Praia to Tanzania

- Timber smuggling is considered one of the sources of terrorist financing in Cabo Delgado

- The operation was led by the National Criminal Intelligence Service (SERNIC) and involved the collaboration of other units within the intelligence community

By MOZTIMES

Pemba (MOZTIMES) – An ultra-secret operation led by the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) thwarted the smuggling of large quantities of timber from the northern Mozambican town of Mocímboa da Praia to Tanzania on Wednesday night this week.

At the scene, the leader of the smugglers was arrested and two vessels loaded with hundreds of timber planks were seized in the coastal neighbourhood of Milamba, which is regarded as the place of origin of the main insurgent leaders.

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The timber is extracted from forests in Cabo Delgado that are currently inaccessible to local communities and timber operators due to the ongoing insurgency. It is transported to the town of Mocímboa da Praia and stored in a depot located inside a residence in an area known as Nabubussi, in the Milamba neighbourhood, near a water channel with access to the sea. Once large quantities have accumulated, the timber is loaded onto vessels and smuggled by sea to Tanzania during the night.

Both the areas where the timber is cut and those through which it is transported are heavily patrolled by the Defence and Security Forces (FDS), including officers from the police Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR), the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Police (PNPRNMA), SERNIC, the State Intelligence and Security Service (SISE), and soldiers from the Mozambican Armed Forces (FADM). For this reason, there are suspicions that the continuation of timber smuggling is facilitated by corruption involving some officers from these units.

The Milamba neighbourhood is considered the first location where the radicalisation of young people, who would later launch the insurgency in 2017, took place. The neighbourhood is also regarded as the place of origin of most insurgent commanders, including the feared Sheikh Selemande Nguvu.

It was in this same neighbourhood that, in October last year, a group of insurgents appeared at dusk leading prayers at a local mosque without being reported by the population.

Meanwhile, changes in the leadership of both SERNIC, which came under the authority of the Attorney-General around a year ago, and SISE, which has had a new director-general, José Pacheco, since June last year, are said to be resulting in an increasingly tight crackdown on smuggling. This seizure in Mocímboa da Praia is presented as evidence of a change in the conduct of the intelligence services.

According to sources within the FDS, the timber shipment had been monitored for several months by agents of SERNIC and other intelligence units.

Informed in advance about the smuggling operation, at around 22.00 on Wednesday, a team composed of agents from several FDS units, and led by SERNIC, arrived at the timber loading site, where they seized the cargo and neutralised the smuggling leader, identified as Ibraimo Issa. He is about 40 years old and is originally from the village of Malinde in Mocímboa da Praia district. At least 700 timber planks were counted at the scene, where they were being loaded for transport to Tanzania.

After he was detained, the main suspect allegedly claimed that he worked in collaboration with a “boss” who had authorised him to smuggle the timber in exchange for a payment of 140,000 meticais (just over 2,000 US dollars). In the context of the FDS, the term “boss” generally refers to a police officer or person of similar rank.

The suspect was taken to the cells of the District Command of the Mozambique Republic Police (PRM) in Mocímboa da Praia, while the timber remained at the seizure site alongside the two vessels in which it was to be transported. The locally manufactured boats are multi-purpose and are generally used for fishing and for transporting large quantities of cargo. They operate both under sail and through built-in and removable engines, sometimes of considerable power, allowing them to travel long distances at sea.

Cases involving the illegal trafficking of timber and other natural resources from Cabo Delgado to Tanzania are regarded as one of the main sources of financing for the terrorism that has affected the province since 2017. (MT)

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