The Mozambican police have arrested three Nigerians, a South African and a local on suspicion of belonging to an international network of traffickers of cocaine.

Maputo police spokesman Leonel Muchina says the detainees belonged to an international cocaine trafficking ring and were identified following a complaint from the local population.

Muchina said that the group was caught while “threatening” the alleged receiver of the drugs, a Nigerian who allegedly received eight kilograms of cocaine from Brazil, worth an estimated 18 million meticais, and destined for South Africa.

Muchima said that the Nigerian, having taken delivery of the product, allegedly tried to deceive his co-conspirators, leading the group to dispatch some members from Brazil to Maputo to recover the product. To this end, Muchina says, they offered a Mozambican 50,000 meticais to identify the Nigerian’s place of residence – 28,000 meticais in advance and 22,000 after the operation’s anticipated completion.

The aforementioned Mozambican later told the press that, once the alleged receiver’s residence was located, he was visited and subjected to torture including the firing of a gun close to his ear, alerting neighbours who them called the police.

At the police station, one of the alleged drug traffickers who came to Mozambique to recover the drug confessed to his participation in the illegal operation. The alleged receiver of the drugs however denied being part of the group and said that he had never received any drugs.

The National Migration Service (SENAMI), who were present at the alleged drug traffickers’ presentation to the press, revealed that the Nigerian citizens involved in this case entered the country illegally, so “after responding for the crime of international drug trafficking and illegal possession and use of weapons, will be expelled from the country”.