US embassy cable - 05MAPUTO2

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 000002 
 
SIPDIS 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CVIS, KFRD, MZ, Trafficking in Persons 
SUBJECT: TRAFFICKING OF BANGLADESHI CITIZENS IN MOZAMBIQUE 
 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: In early December, 34 Bangladeshi 
nationals were apprehended by Mozambican police under 
charges of illegal immigration after having flown into the 
country from the Comoros Islands on a chartered airplane. 
Mozambican newspapers reported that the Bangladeshis were on 
their way to South Africa to seek employment, and were being 
trafficked by a man identified as "Satar." Press reports 
intimate that corrupt immigration and police officials in 
Nampula, Mozambique may have been involved in both the 
issuance of the entry visas and the subsequent detention of 
the Bangladeshi nationals. Post understands that immigration 
by South Asians into and through Mozambique continues to 
increase. End Summary. 
 
2. (U) The group of Bangladeshis flew into Nampula city 
airport on an aircraft belonging to Servico Aereo Regional 
(Regional Air Service). When contacted later by a 
journalist, the director of this small airline, "Mr. Mario," 
said the airplane had been chartered by a Comoros Islands- 
based company called Royal Aviation. 
 
3. (U) All 34 Bangladeshis obtained visas from immigration 
officials at the Nampula airport. It is not known if Satar 
had a hand in arranging for the visas in advance of the 
Bangladeshis' arrival, but there are allegations that 
immigration officials may have been bribed. According to 
news reports, Satar is said to have told police officials 
that this was not the first time he had trafficked 
Bangladeshi laborers to South Africa, and that he earns a 
commission for delivering such groups. 
 
4. (U) Satar had arranged to transport the group of 
Bangladeshis south towards the South African border in 
rental cars. It is not clear how or under what 
circumstances the detentions occurred, but half the group 
was detained in Nampula city, and the other 17 were 
apprehended in Inhambane province, approximately 700 km away 
from the South African border, Ressano Garcia-Komatipoort. 
How the group was planning to cross into South Africa is 
unknown, but in other cases of trafficking reported by the 
International Organization for Migration, illegal immigrants 
have been reported to either be smuggled across the border 
in vehicles or boats, or have attempted to cross by foot. 
 
5. (U) After one week of detention in a Nampula city prison 
facility, 17 Bangladeshis were repatriated via the Comoros 
Islands on the same charter aircraft that had earlier flown 
them to Mozambique. The other half was waiting for resources 
to be made available to fund a second flight. A newspaper 
report said that Mozambican officials were considering 
sending the 17 remaining Bangladeshi nationals to Malawi 
where the Bangladeshi Embassy could assume responsibility 
for repatriating them. Post has been unable to find out what 
became of the 17 Bangladeshis remaining in Nampula city. 
 
6. (U) The key questions underlined by press reports are why 
and how the Bangladeshi nationals were detained by police 
when Mozambican Immigration had granted the group valid 
entry visas. Both the Mozambican National Police and 
Immigration are refusing to comment, both sides suggesting 
that the other is responsible for the situation and should 
therefore be releasing to the public an official account. 
One newspaper report suggests that the police detained the 
Bangladeshis despite their being in possession of valid 
visas after the group refused to pay a bribe. 
 
7. (SBU) Recent telephone conversations with a contact in 
the Office of Immigration in Maputo and an informal contact 
in Nampula city confirm what Post wrote in a January 2004 
cable (04 Maputo 112) regarding immigration trends of South 
Asians in Mozambique: the numbers of Pakistani, Indian and 
Bangladeshi nationals coming to Mozambique are rising. While 
there are many established South Asian communities in 
Mozambique - particularly in Nampula province - significant 
numbers of these nationals continue to seek ways to 
illegally enter South Africa. The South Asians who are not 
able to obtain a visa to enter Mozambique generally enter 
the country through land routes in Malawi and Tanzania, and 
also use boats (embarking from Tanzania) to go ashore in 
Cabo Delgado and Nampula provinces. 
 
8. (SBU) Post's contact in the office of immigration in 
Maputo acknowledges the problem of corruption among visa 
officials in general, but particularly in more remote areas 
of Mozambique. For the right sum, it is not difficult for 
third country nationals to obtain either a Mozambican 
passport or residency permit. This is apparent on the visa 
line, where Post has seen probable imposters applying for 
visas using genuine Mozambican identity documents. 
 
9. (U) A recent article published on December 21, draws 
attention to the growing misuse of 30-day Mozambican tourist 
visas, which are routinely granted by Mozambican immigration 
officials both at the land borders and at airports, often 
with minimal scrutiny or interviewing. In the same article, 
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism Vitoria Dias 
Diogo acknowledged that the ease with which foreigners can 
obtain Mozambican visitor's visas may create opportunities 
for gain and profit for those harboring ill intentions 
regarding immigration law, and said the issue would be 
reexamined by the Tourist Commission.