Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Conakry (Agenzia Fides)- The Republic of Guinea (also known as Guinea Conakry) is no longer only a transit point for drugs (principally cocaine) on its way to Europe, it is a now a new market for drug traffickers.
A warning about increased drug addition in the country was issued by Captain Moussa Tiégboro, secretary of state in charged of combating drug abuse, who recently visited to only two centres for the rehabilitation of drug addicts in Guinea. “Visiting these centres I felt deep regret for the future and the transformation of Guinean society. The scourge of drugs is now a concerning issue. I believe this visit will help us to assess the extension of drug abuse in our country and to unite with other neighbouring counties in efforts to eradicate the phenomenon” said captain Tiégboro.
The directress of one of the centres visited by the secretary of state for combating drug abuse, Mariame Baldé, told the local daily Guinéenews that most of her patients, suffering from serious psychic pathologies, contracted the illness because of consumption of heavy drugs. Not long ago the most diffused drug was marijuana, cultivated locally. However in recent years there has been an increase in consumption of heroine and cocaine, imported into the country by international drug trafficking organisations which use West African countries as transit points for Europe.
Most of the patients at the centre run by Mrs Baldé are between 20 and 35 years old. She revealed another disquieting factor: a growing number of girls now consume heavy drugs. “Our centres are overcrowded. We have more than a hundred young drug addicts in rehabilitation. Until a few years ago not many were girls. Sad to say things have changed. Three years ago women consumed mainly marijuana, now more and more of them are turning to heavy drugs like heroine and cocaine”.
This is a concerning tendency, Mrs Baldé underlines, especially because of the role of women in Guinean society, in education particularly.
Combating drug trafficking and abuse is one of the priorities adopted by the military junta which took power with a coup in December 2008 (see Fides 15/6/2009). The Guinean authorities have announced the arrest of Nigerian citizen, Obrain Sonadia, defined “a major negotiator in international drug trafficking”. Reportedly Sonadia attempted to come to an agreement with Tiégboro: in exchange for permission to use Guinea as a transit point for cocaine destined for Europe, the drug trafficking network promised to finance the national budget and prevent the sale of and consumption of drugs in Guinean territory. After prolonging the negotiations in the hope of catching other members of the drug trafficking network, captain Tiégboro ordered the arrest of the Nigerian.
According to the 2009 World Drug Report. WDR, issued by the UN office for combating drug abuse and crime, the quantity of cocaine in transit in West Africa on its way to Europe (see Fides 25/6/2009) is decreasing. For this change in tendency to become permanent it must be accompanied by support measures on the part of African countries. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 2/7/2009 righe 41 parole 561)
