39 kids rescued from smugglers
2008-01-30 15:34
Maputo - Police in Mozambique intercepted a lorry carrying 39 youngsters as they were about to be smuggled across the border into Zimbabwe by suspected child traffickers, said the interior ministry on Wednesday.
The children, all aged between six and 16 years, were discovered following a tip-off after the lorry was pulled over while headed to the western Machipanda border crossing, said ministry spokesperson Feliciano Dique.
"An inquiry has begun to find out where these children come from and their precise destination, but we already suspect that they were being taken abroad," said Dique.
A coalition of rights groups warned late last year that trafficking of Mozambican children across to neighbouring countries, mostly South Africa, has risen tenfold in the last two years.