Cape Verde
 Cape Verde    | |
|---|---|
| File:Location Cape Verde AU Africa.svg | |
 | |
| Formation | 5 July 1975 |
| Location | West Africa, Africa |
| Type |  nation state |
| Member of | African Union, International Criminal Court, La Francophonie, Organisation of African Unity, UN |
Cape Verde is a small island nation off West Africa. It is a hub for illegal cocaine smuggling.
Cocaine transit hub
On March 9, Guinea-Bissau recorded its biggest cocaine bust yet after discovering almost 800 kilograms (1,764 pounds) of the narcotic in a fish truck bound for Mali. Four people were arrested, including an adviser to the speaker of Niger’s national assembly who’s suspected of working for a businessman with links to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, known by its acronym AQIM, according to Domingos Correia, deputy national director of the judicial police.[1]
Drug bust
In 2019, 11 Russian sailors were arrested after Cape Verde police found 9.5[2][3][4] or 9.6[5] tons of cocaine on their Panama-flagged vessel. This is reported to have an estimated value of $720 million, or the equivalent of 41 percent of Cape Verde’s annual GDP.[5]
References
- ↑ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-13/record-cocaine-busts-mark-west-africa-s-comeback-as-transit-hub
- ↑ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6658191/Cape-Verde-seizes-record-cocaine-haul-Russian-ship.html
- ↑ https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-capeverde-drugs/cape-verde-seizes-record-cocaine-haul-from-russian-ship-idUKKCN1PQ59B
- ↑ https://www.dw.com/en/cape-verde-seizes-95-tons-of-cocaine-russian-sailors-arrested/a-47335072
- ↑ a b https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-13/record-cocaine-busts-mark-west-africa-s-comeback-as-transit-hub
