The Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) arrested the 28-year-old man caught on surveillance cameras breaking into the headquarters of the Mozambican Bar Association in the "Colombia" neighborhood in the early hours of November 5. When he was captured, he ingested drugs in order to have convulsions and escape from the hands of the police.

The citizen, who was arrested at the PRM's 6th Police Station in Maputo City, says that it was by chance that he broke into the OAM headquarters, where he stole two laptops with their chargers, an image projector and a briefcase.

In an interview with Televisão Miramar, the young man said he was a car polisher in downtown Maputo.

"It just happened. I was passing by and I saw the laptop in the window and went in to take it," he said, implying that in order to access the OAM courtyard, he went in through the door without climbing.

He also said that of everything he saw, the computers attracted the most attention, not least because they were easy to transport and sell.

"I sold everything the same day, in the military zone [Colombia], for 15,000 meticais," he revealed, before going on to say that he continued to live at ease because he didn't know he was wanted by the police.

He also said that he had never shoplifted from places like OAM, only accessories from the vehicles he was entrusted to polish.

In his version, the police assaulted him at the time of his arrest. It is suspected that he deliberately consumed heroin in order to have convulsions.

"I didn't consume anything. The police caught me and beat me. I was carrying heroin in my mouth. When I was beaten up, I accidentally swallowed two balls. I spent five days in hospital," he said.

The spokesperson for the PRM in Maputo city, Marta Pereira, said that the individual was a repeat offender in theft crimes.

"The young man allegedly climbed the OAM, broke the padlock, entered and looted various goods for later sale in the neighborhood of Colombia, a military district. Unfortunately, he is a recurring youth in this world of crime. He has been in the cells of this police subunit several times," he said.

 The PRM sees this arrest as an opportunity for the justice authorities to investigate the recidivism of criminals, in order to "put a tough hand on penalties".

When he was arrested, Marta Pereira continued, he allegedly swallowed two balls of heroin, known as Thai, to get out of yet another situation. When he arrived at the police station, he allegedly had convulsions". He was sent for observation at a health unit. "After treatment we had him back. From the investigations it turned out that this was the individual who had climbed into that institution".