Maputo, Jan. 9, 2026 (Lusa) - Mozambique has recovered 5,100 doses of the approximately 844,860 anti-malaria treatments stolen in December from the central warehouse in Machava, Maputo province, authorities announced on Friday, warning that the amount is still very small.
This is the result of a joint action between the national medicines regulatory authority (Anarme), the attorney general's office (PGR) and the national criminal investigation service (Sernic), which led to the arrest of central warehouse employees and security guards, explained the director-general of the Central Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency, Noémia Escrivão, today in Matola.
"They were colluding in this theft. And as a result of the investigation carried out by the national criminal investigation service, a total of 5,100 antimalarial treatments were seized in Chimoio [Manica province]," she added, presenting the seized medicines.
In addition to the antimalarial drugs, other medicines in tablet form, also stolen, were seized in the provincial capital of Manica, in the centre of the country.
"We had a shortage of antimalarial drugs here, and the antimalarial drugs we recovered are not even half of what was stolen. This means that we still have quantities of antimalarial drugs circulating on the market," she explained.
Noémia Escrivão pointed out that the theft of medicines in the country not only feeds the domestic market but also neighbouring countries, since the quantity seized in Chimoio, according to information gathered by the authorities, "was a shipment of goods that were on their way to Malawi".
"And we have already received information from inspectors and other regulatory authorities in neighbouring countries that in some inspections they seize medicines coming from Mozambique. So, all supervisory bodies need to tighten the net because these products are leaving through our borders," she warned.
According to the director-general of the medicines centre, six people are currently in custody in connection with this crime, one of whom is a warehouse worker, two are security guards and the rest are alleged buyers of the goods.
"We appeal to everyone, whether in the black market, clinics or pharmacies, if you find medicines labelled “For the exclusive use of the ministry of health”, you must report it to the National Medicines Regulatory Authority and pass this information on to the Medicines Centre so that action can be taken," she continued.
To prevent future thefts, the authorities are now using different forms of prevention, including a computerised management system, which made it "possible to realise that there had been a disappearance" from the warehouse.
"We also have a video surveillance system in all warehouses, which made it possible to check the history of when the product was removed from the warehouse and what quantities were removed," she added.
On 15 January 2024, Mozambique's drug regulatory authority had already announced the arrest of three people suspected of involvement in the theft of antimalarial drugs from the central warehouse in Machava.
"The quantities of stolen medicines are equivalent to 837,990 treatments, valued at 42,150,897 meticais (€562,000)," according to a statement from the medicines regulatory authority, consulted at the time by Lusa.
On the 22nd of the same month, the Mozambican police arrested a woman in Manica in illegal possession of 19 boxes of various medicines, stolen the previous week from the warehouse.
Minister of Health Ussene Isse recently reiterated his "zero tolerance" stance on drug smuggling in the country, referring to recent known cases of medicine thefts from health facilities.
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