The region has seen a sharp increase in drug seizures, mainly cocaine and cannabis resin, according to a United Nations report.
Drug seizures have soared in West Africa's Sahel region, showing that the conflict zone is becoming a powerful route for drug trafficking, according to a new United Nations report.
According to a report released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the amount of cocaine seized in Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso and Niger in 2022 was 1,466 kg (3,232 lb), compared to an average of 13 kg (28.7 lb) between 2013 and 2020. Pound) was (UNODC) on Friday.
Cocaine is the most commonly seized drug in the Sahel after cannabis resin, the report added.
The Sahel region, located south of the Sahara Desert and running from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, is a natural transit point for increasing amounts of cocaine produced in South America and destined for Europe.
Amado Philippe de Andres, UNODC Regional Director for West and Central Africa, said human trafficking had a negative impact on peace and health both regionally and globally.
“The involvement of various armed groups in drug trafficking continues to undermine peace and stability in the region,” said Philip de Andres.
The report highlighted that drug trafficking is funding armed groups in the Sahel, where extremist networks are flourishing and the region has suffered a recent spate of coups.
“Drug trafficking is facilitated by a wide range of individuals, including members of political elites, community leaders, and leaders of armed groups,” UNODC said, adding that this allows armed groups to “particularly continue their involvement in conflicts. ” he added. Through the purchase of weapons. ”
“Traffickers use their income to infiltrate different levels of the state, allowing them to effectively evade prosecution,” UNODC added.
“Urgent and coordinated action”
In recent years, this area has attracted attention as a drug-consuming area.
On Monday, patrols in southwestern Niger intercepted a shipment of cannabis and the opioid painkiller tramadol worth $50,000, state television said.
Corruption and money laundering are key drivers of drug trafficking, with recent seizures and arrests encouraging political elites, community leaders and armed group leaders to facilitate drug trafficking in the Sahel. The UN report said that
“Countries in the Sahel region, together with the international community, must take urgent, coordinated and comprehensive action to dismantle drug trafficking networks,” said Leonardo Santos Simao, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for West Africa. Ta.
Lucia Bird, director of the West Africa Illicit Economy Observatory at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, told Al Jazeera that corruption is the oil that keeps the wheels of the criminal market moving.
“The Sahel region is also experiencing instability, with governments struggling to control some areas. And this instability also creates opportunities for criminal markets and drug trafficking,” she noted.
“The priority for the Sahel at this moment must be stabilization,” Bird said, adding that the entire supply chain must respond to the challenges posed by drug trafficking, and that responsibility should not rest solely with transit countries. he added.
