Senegal Customs Confiscate Cocaine Shipments Valued at $50m+

Senegalese customs officials have seized three significant shipments of cocaine worth over $50 million in the past five days. The largest haul involved a refrigerated truck intercepted near the Mali border, containing 306.24 kilograms of cocaine valued at $40 million. Another operation in southern Senegal uncovered 95 packets of cocaine worth $14.2 million, while a separate seizure at Blaise Diagne International Airport near Dakar turned up 18 kilograms of cocaine valued at $2.3 million hidden in unaccompanied luggage destined for Europe. These seizures highlight Senegal’s increasing role as a transit zone for drugs produced in Latin America en route to Europe, joining neighboring countries like Guinea, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Mali. Recent months have seen a spike in cocaine confiscations, including a 1-ton seizure in April near the Mali border and nearly 3 tons from a vessel in international waters off Senegal’s coast last November.SOURCE: VOA NEWS