A key figure in the people trafficking racket uncovered earlier this week by the Mozambican police and the independent television station STV may have escaped from police custody, according to reports reaching AIM on Friday.He is Pakistani citizen Momad Altaf, owner of the house near Maputo International Airport, where 70 Pakistani and Bangladeshi migrants were discovered, sleeping in squalid conditions, on Wednesday morning.Altaf was taken, along with his 70 “guests”, to the Maputo 18th police precinct – where he is believed to have escaped, although neither the Criminal Investigation Police (PIC) nor the Maputo City Police Command . But Chefo had already left the city command, and was not answering his phone. AIM did manage to speak to the National Director of PIC, Carlos Come, but he said he had no further information on the case. He promised to investigate and contact later – but by the time of writing this news item there had been no such contact. Momad Altaf is clearly the man who could lead the police to more senior figures in the people trafficking network, and might also identify any immigration officials who facilitated the entry of the Pakistanis and Bangladeshis.It was Altaf who, when STV asked him to explain the presence of dozens of young Asian men sleeping on his floors, replied “they’re my best friends”.STV also revealed that Altaf offered the police 1,000 US dollars for each of the migrants, if they were allowed to stay – a bribe of 70,000 dollars. The offer was rejected .
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