Latino drug lords find African allies
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http://www.thenational.ae/article/20081025/FOREIGN/428409630/1002
An upcoming UN report will shed light on criminal gangs in West Africa that work with South American drug cartels in a murky alliance that threatens stability in the region.“Besides foreigners there is a growing phenomenon of local criminal groups,” said Antonio Mazzitelli of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). “This certainly creates obstacles to democracy, to good governance, to development.”
The UN estimates that US$2 billion (Dh7.3bn) worth of cocaine enters West Africa each year before being smuggled into Europe. Previous research focused on the role of South American cocaine cartels, which began operating heavily in the region about four years ago.
“We often talk about the Latinos, but what about the Africans involved? There are over 1,600 West Africans all over the world convicted for drug trafficking,” Mr Mazzitelli said in a telephone interview from his office in the Senegalese capital, Dakar.
The new report will look at local criminal networks, which facilitate the passage of drugs through airports and organised human couriers to smuggle cocaine into Europe via commercial flights. These gangs take in about $450 million each year, according to Mr Mazzitelli. Antonio Costa, who heads the UNODC, will unveil the report at a three-day anti-drug trafficking conference that starts today in the island nation of Cape Verde, which has emerged as one of the main transit points for drug smugglers. The conference is being held by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas).
The title of the conference, Drug Trafficking as a Security Threat to West Africa, shows that West African countries now recognize drug trafficking as a serious danger to their stability, Mr Mazzitelli said. Previously, Ecowas members considered the cocaine trade a problem primarily for governments in South America, the source of supply, and Europe, where the demand lies.
“This overall attitude has characterized the issue,” he said. But the thinking changed as West African countries watched cartels infiltrate their security forces and other state institutions.
“It can cause destabilisation for the government,” said Francis Munu, the head of crime and intelligence in the Sierra Leone police.
