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Senegal Seizes Significant Cocaine Stash


FILE: Representative illustration of cocaine, some 300 kilograms of which was seized by Senegal. Taken April 2, 2022
FILE: Representative illustration of cocaine, some 300 kilograms of which was seized by Senegal. Taken April 2, 2022

Senegalese customs say they have seized 300 kilograms of cocaine worth around $36 million aboard a truck near the Malian border, in the biggest land seizure of the drug in the country's history.

The drugs were found on Saturday at Kidira in a refrigerated lorry that was heading to the Senegalese capital Dakar, the customs authorities said.

The two drivers have been arrested and a quantity of cash in dollars and West African currencies was seized, they said in a statement on Sunday.

West Africa has for years been a transit zone for drugs produced in Latin America, but UN investigators say it is also a growing market for narcotics.

Africa's customs inspections and porous borders enable smugglers to get the drug into the continent, where it is repacked with concealing items and shipped to Europe's ready market. Authorities say cocaine purveyors are also working to develop an "appetite" for it among Africans, growing their business and profits.

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