Mozambican inspection seizes 17,279 alcoholic beverages

A the operation focused on four commercial establishments and aimed to monitor compliance with Decree 31/2025 of 11 September, which establishes rules for the production, marketing and consumption of alcoholic beverages, including the prohibition of its sale on Sundays.

The inspection, carried out by the IGSAE with the follow-up of the Attorney General's Office (PGR) and the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM), also allowed to detect beverages without tax stamps, rolls of non-applied tax seals, material for labelling and products without information in Portuguese.

“From the work carried out, 17,279 chivochongo units were seized, evaluated at 1,318,211 methics (17.8 thousand euros),” said IGSAE inspector-general Shaquila Mohamed at a press conference in Maputo, adding that the drinks were seized on suspicion of having been produced with pure ethyl alcohol.

The operation determined the closure of three of the four establishments supervised, in accordance with Decree 31/2025, and samples of alcoholic beverages were also taken for laboratory analysis and products considered prohibited for being produced with pure ethyl alcohol or synthetic alcohol.

“ These drinks are made with the raw material pure ethyl alcohol or synthetic alcohol ", said Shaquila Mohamed, explaining that the inspection found large quantities of beverages in 500 and 750 millilitres packages, among others, although the irregularity is mainly related to the raw material used in production.

According to IGSAE, the legislation provides that the production of alcoholic beverages must be based on fruits or grains and the use of pure ethyl alcohol or synthetic alcohol is prohibited for that purpose. The authorities will destroy the seized beverages and the media should be invited to follow the operation.

During the inspection, in one of the establishments, the inspectors also found a pistol and nine ammunition. The owner presented a license for the use and possession of the expired weapon and did not show the respective registration, a situation that led to the intervention of the police and judicial authorities accompanying the operation.

The inspector-general explained that the action was also the result of a complaint on the circulation, sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages in establishments of this kind in Matola, and the inspection, initiated on Sunday, lasted until around midnight due to the number of establishments covered.

“We have not reported any disappearance of values,” said Shaquila Mohamed, rejecting charges of theft or vandalization and explaining that the removal of computer storage devices from an office took place within the framework of another intervention by the authorities, whose criminal investigation is not for IGSAE to clarify.

The inspection takes place in a context of strengthening control over the marketing of alcoholic beverages in Mozambique, after, in July, the authorities destroyed 1,699 packages of beverages considered unfit for consumption in the province of Sofala, evaluated at about 1.35 million meticais, after laboratory tests confirmed irregularities.