NCJ Number
220729
Date Published
October 2007
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This report discusses the situation of cocaine trafficking in Western Africa for 2007, specifically cocaine seizures.
Abstract
Although cocaine is not produced in Africa, the rapid increase in seizures suggests that the continent, and in particular its Western region, is growing in importance as a transit area for cocaine trafficking between Latin American countries and Europe. Between 1998 and 2003, for the continent as a whole, the annual cocaine seizures in Africa averaged about 0.6 metric tons (mt). Preliminary data for 2007 clearly show that Western Africa is emerging as an important staging post along the route from South America to the growing cocaine market in Europe. For the first 9 months of 2007, a record level of 5.7 mt of cocaine was seized in African countries. The phenomenon is growing not only in volume, but also in sophistication, with traffickers having established air connections between Latin America and Africa. Speed boats, until recently used only for cocaine trafficking between Latin America and the United States, are now also used between Africa and Europe. The growing phenomenon of cocaine trafficking through Africa shows the vulnerability of African states confronted with organized crime groups. This report reviews recent cocaine seizures in African countries, as well as cocaine seizures originating from African countries and reported by European countries. Most data comes from official law enforcement agencies. In addition, some member states provide the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) with information on individual drug seizures. Figures, tables and annexes 1 and 2