Drug Trafficking Soars in the West African Sahel Region, U.N. Report Reveals

United Nations — A new report from the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released Friday highlights a dramatic increase in drug seizures in the West African Sahel region, underscoring its growing role as a key route for narcotics trafficking, particularly cocaine.

The findings show a significant escalation, with cocaine seizures in Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso, and Niger soaring to 1,466 kilograms (3,232 pounds) in 2022, up from an annual average of just 13 kilograms (28.7 pounds) between 2013 and 2020.

This surge in drug trafficking is largely attributed to the Sahel's strategic location south of the Sahara Desert, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Sea, making it an ideal transit point for South American cocaine destined for European markets.

The report coincides with a recent announcement from Senegal, which borders the Sahel, of a record-breaking land seizure of 1,137 kilograms of cocaine valued at $146 million near an artisanal mine in the east of the country.

This seizure is part of a trend of increasing drug incidents in the region, including a significant operation by the Senegalese navy in December last year, which captured 3 tons of cocaine at sea.

According to Amado Philip de Andrés, UNODC Regional Representative in West and Central Africa, the involvement of various armed groups in the drug trade is exacerbating the already fragile security situation in the Sahel.

"The drug trade provides financial resources to armed groups in the Sahel, where Islamic extremist networks have flourished as the region struggles with a recent spate of coups," de Andrés stated.

The report also highlights emerging trends in the region, such as the increase in local drug markets and consumption.

Lucia Bird, director of the West Africa Observatory of illicit economies at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, noted, "We've had reports of rising crack cocaine consumption in Agadez, Niger, driven by payment in kind.

Smaller traffickers get paid in drugs and offload it onto local markets because they don't have the contacts in more lucrative consumption destinations."

Additionally, innovative trafficking methods have emerged, such as the direct exchange of Moroccan hashish for South American cocaine, which bypasses the need for cash payments and exploits price differences across continents. This method has increased the volume of drugs trafficked overland through some of the most conflict-affected areas of the Sahel.

The report also points to corruption and money laundering as significant enablers of the drug trade in the region, with recent seizures and arrests implicating political elites, community leaders, and leaders of armed groups.

Leonardo Santos Simão, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for West Africa, emphasized the need for urgent, coordinated, and comprehensive action by Sahel states and the international community to dismantle these networks and address the root causes of drug trafficking in the region.