Maputo — Mozambique's National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) detained, last Friday, a Chinese man for allegedly trying to abduct at least eleven people for human trafficking.

According to SERNIC spokesperson Hilário Lole, speaking to reporters, on Tuesday, in Maputo, the victims, aged between 22 and 32, included men and women who, by telephone or through acquaintances, were promised jobs in Thailand.

"Even without detailed information about the job, the trip was already scheduled for last Saturday, when it was cancelled by SERNIC because it concluded that this was a human trafficking scheme', Lole said.

Lole explained that SERNIC found out that it was a criminal scheme because the visas processed for the victims were tourist ones and their tickets were just one-way .

"They had no return ticketsn and they had no contact in Thailand. There were not even contractual clauses about how they would live and work in that country', he said.

Lole also explained that the Chinese man arrested claimed he was working on behalf of someone in Thailand. However, it was concluded that he was part of a human trafficking network.

"He knows what he's doing, and SERNIC is working to get all the information about the other members of his gang', Lole said.

For his turn, the Chinese suspect, speaking briefly to reporters, denied the accusations and insisted that the job recruitment was real.