Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Immigration Service in Manica province, central Mozambique, has detained six Pakistani citizens who entered the country illegally.
The citizens were detained on National Road Number Seven (N7) at a checkpoint in the district of Vanduzi. They were travelling in a passenger transport vehicle bound for Maputo, the Mozambican capital.
The spokesperson for the Immigration Service in the province of Manica, Abílio Mate, said yesterday in Chimoio city that five of the citizens did not present a visa or any other document that would allow them to enter Mozambique. Only one has a visa, issued in neighbouring Malawi.
In fact, the document is considered suspect and the immigration authorities are seeking to assess its authenticity.
“Five of them do not have a visa or any other document that allows them to enter our country. Only one has a visa that was issued in Malawi. But we also think that this is doubtful,” Mate told a press conference called to present the six illegal immigrants.
“When questioned, they say they were travelling to Maputo to meet friends. But they do not reveal either the purpose of the meeting or who are the other people who are part of the meeting,” he reported.
The spokesperson said that investigations were underway to identify and dismantle schemes that facilitate the entry of illegal foreigners into Mozambique.
“The reason they got to the district of Vanduzi where they were questioned is because they passed through some checkpoints in the provinces of Manica and Tete. We believe that there is a scheme to facilitate entry by some citizens within the national territory,” he said.
He revealed that these and other illegal immigrants enter Mozambique from the borders of the province of Tete. “There is work underway with the main objective of identifying the facilitation network and holding those involved in these schemes accountable.”
Mate said that the six illegal immigrants will be repatriated to Malawi, their country of origin, and the transport company may be held liable, as required by immigration law.
National Road Number Seven connects the provinces of Tete and Manica. It is the preferred route for illegal immigrants trying to reach Maputo or South Africa.
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