The Vatican and the UN sound the alarm on drug trafficking in the Sahel region

Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger: the Vatican joins the UN in sounding the alarm as these African countries become crucial hubs for the distribution of narcotics. Drug trafficking in the Sahel countries not only endangers public health and fuels regional instability, but also generates corruption and ends up financing military and terrorist groups. According to the latest report by the UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) relayed by the Vatican agency Fides, “drug trafficking is well established in the region with harmful consequences both locally and globally. The involvement of various armed groups in drug trafficking continues to undermine peace and stability in the region.”

Pope Francis: No to the legalization of any type of drug

The case

Cannabis resin remains the most seized substance in Sahel countries, followed by cocaine and pharmaceutical opioids. It is worth noting that cocaine seizures increased from an average of 13 kg during the period 2015-2020 to a staggering 1,466 kg in 2022 alone in Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso and Niger. In June 2023, 2.3 tonnes of cocaine were seized in Mauritania alone. In April 2024, Senegalese authorities announced the seizure of a record 1,137 kg of cocaine, valued at $146 million. The consignment was hidden in a truck stopped at the border with Mali. In 2022, authorities in Dakar seized 300 kg of cocaine from a truck at the same border. The largest seizure was in November 2023, when the Senegalese navy confiscated nearly three tonnes of cocaine from a ship off the coast of Senegal.

The fact that the largest seizures of cocaine were made in Senegal and Mauritania indicates that the traditional route taken by drug traffickers from South America to Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Senegal is still very active. From there, the cocaine is then transported by land via Mali and Niger, then to North African countries such as Algeria, Libya and Morocco. The cocaine is eventually transported across the Mediterranean to Europe, the main drug market with North America.

But African countries are not only transit countries, they are also emerging markets for narcotics. In addition to traditional cannabis, there is cocaine, natural and synthetic opiates, methamphetamines, etc. This is also explained by the fact that small African traffickers are paid with quantities of drugs which they then resell on the local market.

West African consumers now have access to new, low-cost synthetic substances, such as kush (a mixture of marijuana, fentanyl and tramadol), which has created a health and social emergency in Sierra Leone and Guinea Conakry. According to UNODC, other substances with exotic names such as Khadafi (a mixture of tramadol and alcoholic energy drinks) and Monkey Tail (a mixture of seeds, leaves, stems and roots of gin and cannabis) have also been added. Thus, alongside substances imported from other continents, such as cocaine, a low-cost local production of new drugs has been created, which has spread among the populations of West African states. Local authorities must address the social and health damage caused by the abuse of these drugs, starting with the increase in psychiatric problems.

“Local drug markets in Africa are rapidly diversifying from a predominance of domestically sourced cannabis to a multitude of transit drugs. This diversification exacerbates existing health problems, especially as treatment services for drug addicts are limited in West Africa,” says UNODC. Finally, drug trafficking, in addition to financing armed groups in the region, also exacerbates the problem of corruption, with police, customs officials and politicians paid by drug traffickers, while part of the revenue of drug trafficking is reinvested in local projects. markets, compromising the development of a healthy economy.

The Vatican against the liberalization of cannabis, a controversial legalization

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