First Independent Mena Newspaper
The French Navy has intercepted nearly 10 tonnes of cocaine aboard a stateless fishing vessel off the coast of West Africa, marking one of the year’s largest drug busts and highlighting the region’s growing role as a key transshipment route in the global cocaine trade. The 9.6-tonne haul — valued at roughly $600 million — […]
West Africa is becoming a central node in global cocaine trafficking, as powerful criminal groups from the Western Balkans expand their footprint across the region, a new report has revealed. Once operating largely behind the scenes, Albanian- and Slavic-speaking networks have now entrenched themselves in countries like Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, and Cape Verde. These […]
Drug trafficking in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger continues to undermine security and economic development in the West African Sahel region, according to a new report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) that calls for the dismantling of trafficking networks. In light of the soaring seizures of drugs, especially cocaine, […]
The Spanish police successfully intercepted a vessel carrying over 1,500 kilograms of cocaine off the coast of Gran Canaria. The intercepted boat, which was carrying 64 bundles of illicit substances, was apprehended, leading to the arrest of three individuals of different nationalities. As part of a joint operation, agents from the national police and the […]
Police at the Tanger-Med port, foiled, on Tuesday, an international drug trafficking operation and seized one ton, 488 kg and 80 grams of cocaine. This operation was carried out in close coordination with Spanish security services, as part of joint operational cooperation to combat international cocaine trafficking operations and neutralize the dangers and threats posed […]
Senegal’s navy has intercepted over three tons of cocaine from a ship moored off the coast in what is one of the country’s biggest drug hauls, as traffickers often exploit West African nations as transit points to transport cocaine from South America to Europe. “The patrol boat FOULADOU seized nearly 3 tons of pure cocaine […]
Moroccan authorities have seized more than 1.4 tons of cocaine in 2021 and arrested 103,000 people, including 261 foreign nationals, during their relentless battle engaged against narcotics and drug dealers. According to latest data released by the National police, the security services processed during the same period more than 80,000 cases related to the possession […]
Moroccan security services have announced this weekend the seizure of over 13.7 tons of cannabis at the Tangier-Med port. The drugs were concealed in a semi-trailer truck registered in Morocco. An investigation was opened by the police for the arrest and trial of all those involved in this major drug trafficking operation. Last December, Moroccan […]
The head of the Algerian national security service (DGSN) Abdelghani Hamel has been fired and replaced by Mustapha El-Habiri, head of civil protection directorate, as investigations on the recent seizure of 700 kg of cocaine in Oran port drags foot. A presidential decree Tuesday announced Hamel’s dismissal without giving any reasons behind the move. However, […]
Moroccan security services have seized 541 kilos of cocaine concealed in a container shipped from Latin America to Casablanca. Six people including a Brazilian national suspected of being the “mastermind of a criminal network” were arrested, said on Sunday Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ). Five vehicles and “large sums of money” in Moroccan dirhams […]