Cocaine prices appear to have stabilised in the major consumer markets. Falling demand, competition from New Psychoactive Substances and shifts in consumer preference have been suggested by way of explanation. But according to UNODC sources in Peru a different factor may be at work. Changes in the refinement method mean that a far lower amount…
The Joint Airport Interdiction Task Force (JAITF) at Lomé-Tokoin Airport has reported the seizure of just under 14 kilogramme of Schedule One drugs found in the luggage of a Togolese national. The traveler arrived from Sao Paulo via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airline flight. Law enforcement officers in West Africa have become increasingly aware…
The Government of Ethiopia and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime have signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreeing to the establishment of AIRCOP at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa. The Ethiopian government has committed to providing a designated focal point for the project steering committee, to securing premises at the airport and…
The Nigeria Guardian has reported that a 32 year man died at Abuja airport on 5 July in what appears to have been leakage from an ingested cocaine pellet. The man was booked on the Ethiopian Airline flight to China via Addis Ababa when he collapsed in the departure hall. The Port Health officials who attended to…
A consignment of 277 kg of herbal cannabis destined for the UK was found in the Aviance air cargo village at Accra airport in late June. A few days later the team at Lome intercepted a courier coming in from N’djamena, Chad en route to the US with 8 kg of khat. In each case…
The work of the Joint Airport Interdiction Task Forces (JAITF) supported by the AIRCOP project at different airports in West Africa provide an important insight into the fluidity of international drug trafficking networks. Three seizures at Praia airport confirm the continuing importance of Cape Verde as a springboard for air couriers travelling to Europe. On…
Almost 70% of the population of Guinea Bissau live below the poverty line and it is recognised as one of the least developed countries in the world. Once dubbed as ‘Africa’s first narco-state’, Guinea Bissau has experienced high levels of organised crime and corruption. Following a military coup in 2012, the EU cut ties with…
Spanish authorities seized more than three tons of cocaine and broke up an international drug trafficking ring in Madrid. According to the Spanish police, the organisation was composed by a group of Serbian ex-soldiers that brough cocaine from Latin America to Europe. Sixty-nine people were arrested. The Austrian police arrested a father and a son…
Two Nigerian men were arrested at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, Eastern Nigeria, and accused of drug trafficking and unlawful importation of 9.975 kg of heroin. The two drug traffickers were sentenced to 40 and 15 years of prison. The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Ahmadu Giade, declared that this…
Within a week of receiving training from the Dakar based African AIRCOP team the Joint Airport Interdiction Task Force at Niamey airport in Niger reported the arrest of a Guinea Bissau national. The courier, travelling from Monrovia was carrying 70 pellets with 1,241 grams of cocaine. According to the team leader the arrest was made…
