Maritime Geography Makes Mozambique A Drug Trafficking Route

By Jorge Joaquim  The geography of Mozambique's seas makes it possible for boats to anchor in various places, creating good conditions for crimes and particularly drug trafficking, according to the head of the Mozambican maritime authority INAMAR. Isaías Mondlane said that the weak capacity of surveillance and control of about 100 Mozambican islands mapped by INAMAR, inhabited and non-inhabited, as well as the 572,000 km² of sea and 13,000 km² of inland waters, also contributed. He said Mozambique has intense daily maritime activity, with some 200 vessels entering Mozambican waters every day, and that in most cases the authorities do not have absolute control of that activity, and even less knowledge about the cargo on board. As a way of tackling the different crimes, including drug trafficking, the maritime authorities will open 16 fixed surveillance posts, including on islands, to monitor the arrivals and departures of vessels, particularly small ones that escape monitoring by the integrated centre for maritime control and surveillance.