22 firearms seized from illegal security company in Mozambique

Mozambican authorities announced this Sunday in Beira the seizure of 22 firearms of various calibers that were in the hands of a private security company operating illegally in central Mozambique.

“The process, as you know, is still at the stage of criminal investigation. Everything was confiscated from the enterprise, including existing materials. As for weapons, they are in the regional command. When we became aware of the irregular operation of the company, we took the necessary measures to confiscate the weapons that the workers had,” said José Corado, chief prosecutor of the city of Beira in central Mozambique.

According to José Corado, 22 weapons were seized from the company Gigante Panda, which operated in the provinces of Sofala and Maputo, where, despite previous sanctions, it continued to secretly provide services to its clients.

“We don’t know where it actually operated, since there is neither a physical address nor its own building. And regarding the issue of irregular work, the prosecutor’s office is doing everything possible to stop this problem,” he further stated.

He added that the private security company is owned by a Chinese national and continues to operate in Sofala after it was closed by order of the provincial Attorney General’s Office in February last year.

According to a note dated June 30, PGR in Sofala, as part of its investigation, prohibited the company from carrying out any security activities throughout the country.

“At the provincial GRR in Sofala (…) procedures are ongoing involving the accused Jie Zhuo and Kaman Lau Ming Kwan, accused of money laundering. We are still at the investigation stage, trying to find the owner,” the prosecutor’s representative emphasized.

Previously, more than three thousand company workers had already demonstrated, demanding two months of unpaid wages, mainly because the managers involved in this process found themselves in an uncertain situation.