Maputo (Mozambique), 17 April 2024 – Drug trafficking in Mozambique has a huge impact on the country's peace, stability, and development, as it has been flourishing due to institutional vulnerabilities, particularly in regions like Cabo Delgado – a rich region in natural resources.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Mozambique organized a meeting of focal points of relevant institutions in Maputo to strengthen national responses to drug trafficking, promoting inter-institutional cooperation to effectively tackle drug trafficking by identifying and discussing key threats and challenges in drug trafficking. Ultimately, the goal is to mitigate the impact of drug trafficking on Mozambique's security, stability, and development.
“As the country is seen as a drug corridor and destination, it is important to hold and replicate these types of meetings. The actors on the front line need up-to-date knowledge and/or methods for tackling the crime of drug trafficking,” highlighted by the participants of the meeting.
The meeting discussed good practices and existing challenges for effective inter-institutional coordination and cooperation were raised, namely between investigators, prosecutors and other law enforcement agencies, Financial Intelligence Units and customs.
Following this activity, UNODC carried out a training activity to increase the capacity and effectiveness of the country's criminal justice institutions in combating drug trafficking, such as the Office of the Prosecutor General and the National Criminal Investigation Service.
During the training activity, participants engaged in discussions covering various topics related to combating drug trafficking, such as the legal frameworks, financial investigations, contextualization of local drug trafficking, investigation techniques, digital evidence, procedural management, ethical and human rights considerations, inter-institutional cooperation, complemented by a practical component on such key issues.
The relevance of this type of activity in Mozambique was highlighted by the participants themselves, which see this as an alternate way for a “better elaboration of investigation plans, which are useful for the current context of organized crime, especially drug trafficking.”
The current situation of drug trafficking in Mozambique reveals a complex and evolving landscape. Mozambique has for years served as a transit point on the “Southern Route” for heroin trafficking. Over the past few years, there has been a significant increase in heroin seizures, with more than 750kg seized in 2021 alone – a 428% increase –, rising again by 62% between 2022 and 2023. The decline in opium cultivation in Afghanistan, a major heroin producer, may impact global heroin markets and potentially influence trafficking patterns in Mozambique.
Meanwhile, trafficking of methamphetamines has expanded to Southeast and West Africa, including Mozambique. The country saw a staggering increase in seizures, with a 6218% increase between 2020 and 2021. Major recent seizures, such as 330 kg of methamphetamine and around 100 kg of amphetamines seized in the centre province of Inhambane in early 2024, further signal a continued and increasing influx of these synthetic drugs. Mozambique has also seen an uptick in seizures of drug precursors, with authorities also uncovering drug production facilities.
There has been a global increase in the supply and demand for cocaine, leading to new markets beyond traditional boundaries. Between 2020 and 2021, Mozambique experienced a 150% increase in cocaine seizures, rising once more between 2022 and 2023 by 115%. UNODC’s Global Report on Cocaine shows that the country's links with Portuguese-speaking countries facilitate the flow of cocaine from Latin America. Cocaine arriving in Mozambique is primarily destined for South Africa and European countries, with traffickers using sophisticated tactics such as concealing drugs in containers.
In addition to this, authorities have also seized smaller quantities of ecstasy, khat, hashish, morphine, cannabis, and amphetamines/mandrax. Total amounts of amphetamines have particularly increased since 2019.
These activities were implemented with funding generously provided by the United States Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.