POLICE in the Democratic Republic of Congo briefly detained the Togolese ambassador Mama Gnofang after finding a large stash of Congolese francs in his limousine. Gnofang was stopped on Thursday at Ngobila port on the river Congo as he prepared to cross to Brazzaville in neighbouring Congo, a source at the port said. Security officials discovered a large stash of Congolese francs in the back of his car. DRC law forbids taking national currency out of the country. However, large amounts of the currency are known to be smuggled out of Kinshasa across to Brazzaville, from where they are sold on to rebels in control of eastern DRC. Smugglers are believed to make considerable profit from the racket. Officials at the port were forced to take Gnofang away from the scene after bystanders reacted with anger to the discovery of the cash, the source said. Neither the DRC authorities nor the Togolese embassy in Kinshasa have so far commented on the incident.