Police arrested nine foreigners illegally in the country and seized drugs during an operation to curb human and drug trafficking in Manica, an official source announced today.

According to the same source, six citizens of Tanzanian nationality, two Guineans and one Rwandan were detained with unauthenticated residence documents and suspicious asylum cards.

With them were seized 12 kilos of cannabis and an unspecified quantity of cocaine, said Mário Arnaça, Manica police spokesman quoted by Lusa news agency.

"The arrival of terrorism has to do with the presence of illegal aliens" in the country, Mário Arnaça specified, to justify the operation.

It should be noted that the operation called Salama 8, which has been underway since Monday and will end on Friday, also seized three vehicles with fake license plates that the police suspect have been used in various crimes.