Guinea-Bissau police seize nearly 3 tons of cocaine on plane from Venezuela By SAMBU ASSANA and MARK BANCHEREAU 3:05 PM EDT, September 9, 2024BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau (AP) — Police in Guinea-Bissau seized 2.6 tons of cocaine over the weekend on a plane arriving in the West African country’s capital, Bissau, from Venezuela, judicial police said Monday. Officers seized 78 bales of the drugs smuggled in a Gulfstream IV plane during a raid on Bissau’s Osvaldo Vieira International Airport on Saturday afternoon, police said in a statement. The crew of five, including two Mexican nationals and citizens of Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil, were arrested, including the pilot. Cocaine seizures have become increasingly common in West Africa. The region has become a major transit point for drugs from Latin America and southwest Asia bound for Europe, according to a UN report published earlier this year. Guinea-Bissau is particularly known as a favorite route for international drug cartels. Earlier this year, a US court sentenced the son of the country’s former president, Malam Bacai Sanha, to more than six years in prison for running an international heroin trafficking ring. Saturday’s cocaine seizure was carried out in close cooperation with the US Drug Enforcement Administration and the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre–Narcotics, a European organization, judicial police said in their statement. Neighboring Senegal also announced a record-breaking cocaine seizure of 1,137 kilograms (2,506 pounds) — the largest amount ever seized on the country and worth $146 million — near an artisanal mine in the east of the country earlier this year.

Guinea-Bissau police seize nearly 3 tons of cocaine on plane from Venezuela

By SAMBU ASSANA and MARK BANCHERAU

3:05 p.m. EDT, September 9, 2024

BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau (AP) — Police in Guinea-Bissau seized 2.6 tons of cocaine over the weekend from a plane that arrived in the West African country’s capital, Bissau, from Venezuela, judicial police said Monday.

Agents seized 78 bales of drugs smuggled in a Gulfstream IV plane during a raid at Osvaldo Vieira International Airport in Bissau on Saturday afternoon, police said in a statement.

The five-member crew, including two Mexicans and citizens of Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil, were arrested, including the pilot.

Cocaine seizures are becoming increasingly common in West Africa. The region has become a major transit hub for drugs from Latin America and southwest Asia bound for Europe, according to a UN report published earlier this year.

Guinea-Bissau is particularly known as a favorite route for international drug cartels. Earlier this year, the son of the country’s former president, Malam Bacai Sanha, was sentenced to more than six years in prison by a U.S. court for running an international heroin trafficking ring.

Saturday’s seizure of cocaine was carried out in close cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Maritime Analysis and Operations Center–Narcotics, a European organization, the judicial police said in their statement.

Neighbouring Senegal also announced that it had made a record-breaking cocaine seizure of 1,137 kilograms (2,506 pounds) earlier this year – the largest amount ever seized in the country and worth $146 million – near an artisanal mine in the east of the country.