Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Marrakech (Agenzia Fides) - West Africa is one of two principal routes used by drug traffickers to export South American cocaine to Europe. This was said by Emmanuel Leclaire, vice director of Interpol and person in charge of fighting organised crime and drug trafficking, who is in Marrakech, in Morocco, taking part in a General Assembly of Interpol, an international body of 186 national police forces.
The vice director of Interpol told the press that since 2005 West Africa has become the main path with the Caribbean for cocaine traffic on its way to Europe. The scenario described is one of multinational crime, with places of production, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, exportation Venezuela and Brazil, transit Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau, Mauritania and Senegal and consumption, European Union. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime between January and September 2007 in Africa 5,7 tons of cocaine were seized, 99% in West African countries: Senegal, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau e Guinea Conakry.
To stop drug trafficking in this area, Interpol has launched two programmes: co-ordination of African and European police forces; and co-ordination police forces of Africa and Latin America. Leclaire said that 50% of all the cocaine produced in the world is seized. However this does not mean that the number of cocaine addicts has diminished; on the contrary from 2005 to 2006 the number of people using cocaine increased by one million, bringing to world total to about 14 million.
Fides has treated this problem many times and we published a dossier on the issue last August. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 8/11/2007 righe 22 parole 291)
