Moz tourist extortion cops caught
2010-07-13 21:13
Maputo - Mozambican police arrested three police guards for extorting money form South African tourists in the country's capital Maputo, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The tour group was stopped by the three guards in Maputo's bay area a week ago and had to pay the guards R1 000, said Mozambican police spokesperson Pedro Cossa.
The South Africans drew the attention of passing police officers, who found the money on the guards and arrested them.
"Issues of extortion are not proper in the police," said Cossa.
Police guards are part of the Mozambican police force, but are not on the same level as officers.
Foreigners in Mozambique often complain of extortion by police officers, who levy high "fines" for supposed transgressions.
However, officers had been trained to treat tourists differently ahead of the soccer World Cup, the tourism ministry recently said.
Over 80 000 people entered Mozambique during the event, which finished on Sunday, Cossa said.
He said there was less crime in the country during the World Cup, but could not give comparative figures for the same period last year.
- SAPA