Maputo — Mozambican authorities have detained five Chinese nationals, in the northern province of Nampula, for alleged involvement in illegal mining and identity forgery.

According to Nércia Nota, spokesperson for the Migration Services in Nampula, cited by the independent paper "O País', in addition to the Chinese nationals, the authorities also detained two Malian nationals and one Portuguese national for illegal stay in the country.

The spokesperson explained that the Chinese individuals were detained at a gold mine located in Murrupula district.

"Three Chinese individuals were engaged in illegal mining activities. This is yet another case of illegal immigrants being detained in the country by the National Migration Service (SENAMI), this time in Nampula province. In general, this week, we detained nine people for various illegal activities, ranging from illegal mining to possession of false documents', she said.

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"Two other Chinese nationals were detained in the city, during the authority's routine inspection. It was found out that they possessed fake documents. The documents were submitted for authenticity purposes and it was discovered that they were not in the databases of either the Civil Identification Directorate or SENAMI', added.

According to Nota, the circulation of false identity cards should be a concern for the Government, because it "leads us to conclude that there are some citizens who have a parallel machine to that of the State printing documents for nationals and foreigners.' "Relevant authorities must conduct a thorough investigation to discourage these practices', she said.