12 POLICEMEN DETAINED FOR THEFT AND EXTORTION

12 policemen in Maputo City have been detained in connection with various crimes, including theft and extortion, the spokesperson for the General Command of the Mozambican police, Pedro Cossa, told reporters on Tuesday. The 12 were detained in connection with five crimes that occurred over the last weekend, and Cossa suggested there could be further arrests in the coming days. The detentions, he said, were part of a drive “to purify the ranks of the force”.Six of the policemen were arrested for robbing a South African tourist. “They threatened this citizen with a firearm and took 4,000 rands from his wallet”, said Cossa. “Then they forced him to go to an ATM and withdraw 8,000 meticais (about 275 US dollars)”.The thieves were so sure of themselves that they did not bother to hide their identity. They wore their police uniforms while they robbed the South African tourist. He went to a police station, lodged a complaint, and the six policemen were soon identified and detained. A second case concerned two policemen who recovered goods stolen during a robbery, and instead of handing them over to be returned to their rightful owners, kept them for themselves.The third case mentioned by Cossa concerned traffic policemen who seized four cell phones from youths involved in a traffic accident. “They stole the cell phones and then made returning them conditional on the youths paying 5,000 meticais”, he said.Cossa also mentioned the case of a man who impersonated a member of the Criminal Investigation Police (PIC) in order to extort money from citizens. The man did indeed work in the Maputo police command – but not as a member of PIC. Nonetheless he took his victims to the PIC canteen, where he would shake them down and demand money from them.Cossa said the only possible measure to take against “police thieves” was to expel them from the force. It was also likely that they would face criminal proceedings.“We are purifying our ranks, and not only in Maputo”, he added. “In all provinces we have instructed the provincial commands to control the behaviour of our agents with a fine comb, and to take the appropriate punitive measures. We want to free ourselves of all those who damage the good name of the Mozambican police”.Cossa urged all citizens to collaborate with this effort, by denouncing to the authorities all policemen involved in illicit activities.