Mozambique's National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) has seized 1.4 tonnes of fentanyl at the Cargo Terminal of Maputo International Airport, in an operation that culminated in the arrest of a 31-year-old Mozambican national identified as the intended recipient of the shipment, the Mozambique Information Agency reported on Thursday, 13 August.
According to the agency, the operation was launched after SERNIC received intelligence regarding the arrival of a cargo suspected of carrying narcotics. The consignment originated in Campinas, in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, transited through Luanda, Angola, and had Maputo City as its final destination. The shipment was scheduled to arrive in three separate lots, on 1, 6, and 11 August 2026.
Acting on that intelligence, SERNIC officers were deployed to the Maputo Airport Cargo Terminal to monitor the movement of the goods, confirm the information, and identify the contents. Subsequent forensic analysis confirmed the substance to be fentanyl, a highly addictive synthetic opioid.
According to SERNIC, the substance was distributed across 207 boxes and concealed in liquid form inside cosmetic product bottles — a concealment strategy that is believed to have complicated its immediate identification. The seizure bears similarities to an operation conducted in June, also at Maputo Airport, though on that occasion the fentanyl was found in tablet form.
In the course of the investigation, SERNIC identified and detained the alleged recipient of the cargo, a 31-year-old Mozambican citizen who was apprehended at the cargo terminal as he was preparing to collect the consignment.
To formalise the seizure, SERNIC coordinated with Mozambique Customs, which provided copies of the import documentation and carried out the formal handover of the goods to the criminal investigation authority.
The scale of the seizure places the operation among the most significant drug trafficking interdictions in Mozambique's history, and has renewed concerns about the country being used as a potential transit route for high-risk synthetic substances. SERNIC described the case as a further milestone in the fight against organised crime and drug trafficking.
The institution also highlighted the risks associated with fentanyl and stated that it will continue to investigate the case and conduct operations targeting organised and transnational crime, with the aim of preventing Mozambique from being used as a corridor or destination for drug trafficking.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/08/14/economia/desenvolvimento/sernic-apreende-14-toneladas-de-fentanil-no-aeroporto-de-maputo/
