MAPUTO: Mozambique’s Deputy Interior Minister, Jose Mandra, on Monday announced that 22 suspects have been charged in connection with the wave of kidnappings of businessmen of Asian origin in Maputo.

According to the electronic news sheet “Mediafax” some of the suspects are in police custody.

Mozambican news agency AIM reported that official figures state that nine kidnappings have been reported to the authorities since December 2011. However, members of the Asian community claim that the real number is fifteen.

The kidnappers have demanded on average a ransom of US$2 million. Sometimes they have insisted that the funds to be deposited in bank accounts in Nigeria.

The police have complained that the victims’ families are not cooperating with investigators. This led the Interior Minister to convene a meeting last week with the Muslim community to ask for their assistance.

Last week an employee of the foreign exchange bureau “Africa Cambios” was kidnapped by mistake. He was released a few hours later when the kidnappers realized that they had mistaken him for the bureau’s owner.

- Bernama