The commander-general of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM), Bernardino Rafael, said today that the 32 firearms seized on Thursday by the corporation entered the country legally and the action of the authorities was for the purpose of "screening".

"All weapons that enter the country legally are subject to screening, because we issue an [import] license that has to be compared with the weapons" in the possession of the license holders, Bernardino Rafael said.

The commander-general of PRM, who was speaking to journalists at the end of a graduation ceremony for officers of the corporation in Maputo province, also said that all the ordnance in question was then delivered by the police to Customs for "subsequent procedures.

"We are serious and responsible, continue to trust this police," emphasized Bernardino Rafael, quoted by Lusa.

It should be noted that last Thursday, the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) arrested four people suspected of trying to smuggle 32 firearms across the border at Ressano Garcia, in Maputo province.

The guns were found in a car with two South African citizens who were trying to enter Mozambique through the Ressano Garcia border, the main one between Mozambique and South Africa, said SERNIC spokesman in Maputo province, Henriques Mendes.

"It is important to emphasize here that the detention of this group is justified by the fact that they do not present any document or authorization to import these firearms," explained Henriques Mendes, quoted by Radio Mozambique.

In addition to the two South Africans in the car, according to SERNIC's spokesperson in Maputo province, the authorities arrested two other Mozambicans, namely a customs agent and the owner of a private security company, who allegedly requested the importation of the weapons.

"They have already been submitted to the first interrogation and their prison status has been maintained. The process continues to understand what is the outline of the case," concluded the Sernic spokesman in Maputo province.