Dundo — Thirty-seven thousand liters of fuel (diesel and gasoline) were seized last week by police authorities in the province of Lunda-Norte for smuggling, during a joint micro-operation.

According to the spokesperson for the Provincial Command of the National Police in Lunda-Norte, Domingos Muanafumo, who provided the information to ANGOP this Monday, the seizure occurred when the "smugglers" were preparing the product to transport it to the border and subsequently sell it in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

He said that in the same operation, 188 diamonds of various carats, three thousand and fifty US dollars, 233,750 kwanzas, eight kilograms of cannabis-type drugs, and various means used for mining the strategic mineral were seized.

The source stated that the events occurred in the municipalities of Camaxilo, Lóvua, Xá Cassau, Lucapa, Mussungue, Dundo, and Cambulo, emphasizing that the seized diamonds will be handed over to ENDIAMA EP, as the custodian, which will be responsible for marketing them and returning the proceeds to the State.

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The cash and fuel will be handed over to the General Tax Administration (AGT) for legal proceedings.

Regarding border security, the source continued, 777 immigrants from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were detained for illegal entry and stay in the national territory, adding that they were settled in diamond mining areas, practicing illegal mining.

The source said that after the administrative and immigration procedures, the immigrants were repatriated through the border posts in the municipalities of Lóvua, Chitato, Luremo, Camaxilo, Dundo, Cambulo, and Canzar.

With 19 municipalities, the province of Lunda-Norte shares a 770-kilometer border with the DRC.