Thursday, February 21, 2019

Operation Transparency: Over 450,000 Illegal Foreigners Leave Angola
Luanda, ANGOLA, February 20 - The National Security Council has recommended to pursue the Operation Transparency which forced 453, 022 illegal foreign citizens to leave the national territory, from September 2018 to present date.

The information is contained in a statement released at the First Ordinary Session of the National Security Council held Tuesday, under the guidance of the President of the Republic and Commander-in-Chief of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA), João Lourenço.

The Council found that the goals set through the implementation of the Multi-sector measures provided for in the Executive Operational Strategic Plan for Combat Illegal Immigration and Illicit Trafficking in Diamonds have been attained.

The Session analysed information provided by Lieutenant General Américo Valente, Coordinator of the Advanced Coordination Office of Operation Transparency, from September 2018 to February 2019.

The document clarifies that of the 453,022 foreign citizens who left the country, 35,884 were repatriated administratively, 416,496 left voluntarily and 842 transferred to Luanda for repatriation to their countries of origin.

Also, as the result of operation, the document mentions  159 Cooperatives and 289 Houses, involved in the illicit purchase of diamonds, as having been closed and the seizure of large monetary sums.

The source also quotes 34,480 carats in diamond and 121,783 precious stones as having been seized.

Some 178 backhoe loaders, 30 loader machines, 40 bulldozers, 18 earth moving machinery, 11 agricultural tractors, 346 light and heavy vehicles, 481 motorbikes and 31 bicycles, were also seized during the operation.

They include 123 dredgers, 87 washers, 511 motor pumps, 16 rafts, 98 pneumatic boats, 15 diamond detectors, 128 air compressors, 248 scales, 155 generators, 214 safes, 160 containers and 114 firearms.

The actions carried out under Operation Transparency continue to force the withdrawal of citizens involved in diamond smuggling.

The National Security bodies have dismantled and expelled national and foreign citizens dedicated to plundering of resources in the provinces of Malanje, Uige, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Cuanza Sul, Bié and Cuando Cubango.

The operation was extended later to the provinces of Luanda, Bengo, Zaire and the sea, where, many immigrants, fleeing the diamond-rich areas, try to escape the effects of the Operation.

Four National Air Force aircraft supported the process, with transportation of illegal immigrants and the staff  involved in the Operation.

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