Heroin Is Mozambique’s Second Biggest Export

As many as 40 tonnes of heroin could be passing through Mozambique every year, making it the country's second biggest export, in a trade that is boosted by the use of mobile phone apps, Mozambique analyst Joseph Hanlon says.

He says the southern African nation is now an important stop for heroin traders who are using circuitous routes for their product to reach Europe from Afghanistan, as tighter enforcement has closed off the more direct paths.

The heroin goes from Afghanistan to Pakistan's south-west coast, and from there it is taken by motorised 20m wooden dhows to close to northern Mozambique's coast.

Each dhow carries a tonne of heroin, and one arrives every week except during in the monsoon season, which makes about 40 arrivals a year.

Heroin also comes in by container into the country's Nacala and Beira ports where it is hidden among other goods, such as washing machines.

Overall, this means that at least 40 tonnes of heroin pass through the country each year, according to experts, Mr Hanlon says.

He estimates that the drug is worth $20m (£15m) per tonne at this point in the trade, making it the country's second most valuable export, after coal.


(BBC)



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