Africa-Press – Angola. 3,858 citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were questioned from January to August this year by the Border Guard Police (PGF), in Zaire province, for attempting to enter Angola illegally.
This figure is part of 4,363 miscellaneous offenses recorded by this body assigned to the Provincial Command of the National Police of Zaire, along the border perimeter with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in the period under review.
The data were revealed this Saturday by the second provincial commander of the National Police of Zaire, Augusto Viana Mateus, during the act that marked the 45th anniversary of the creation of the Border Guard Police.
During the period under analysis, he added, 20 crimes of promotion and assistance to illegal immigration were registered, which resulted in the arrest of 33 national citizens.
With regard to fuel smuggling, the source said that 257 offenses had been registered which culminated in the seizure of 202,810 liters of oil derivatives.
Augusto Viana Mateus urged the staff deployed at various border posts with the neighboring country to redouble their vigilance in order to combat cross-border crimes in the region.
Severe punishment for citizens who aid illegal immigration
The municipal administrator of Soyo, José Mendes Belo, defended a more severe punishment for national citizens who promote and assist illegal immigration, with a view to discouraging this phenomenon in the region.
Speaking at the municipal act commemorating the 45th anniversary of the Border Guard Police, the official defended the same position towards national citizens who are involved in the smuggling of fuel to the DRC.
According to the administrator, related institutions must trigger operational and legal mechanisms to severely punish national and foreign citizens who engage in these practices.
Four of the six municipalities in the province of Zaire share a border with the DRC, namely Mbanza Kongo, Soyo, Cuimba and Nóqui, for a total of 310 kilometres.
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