Crime

West Africa’s drug trafficking surge fuels local addiction

Published

8 months ago

October 3, 2025

Drug trafficking through West Africa is deepening addiction and straining public resources in some of the world’s poorest countries, used to transit contraband towards Europe.

The United Nations sounded the alarm last year that smuggling through the Sahel — a semi-arid region below the Sahara where poverty and armed groups are rife — was on the rise, noting an increase in large-scale cocaine seizures in recent years.

But government officials, doctors and researchers told AFP such trafficking — in addition to providing money for criminal groups — leads to contraband spilling over into the local market in low-income countries, where treatment options are sparse.

“Once it finds its way into the system, even if the rationale behind it is to export it to other countries, some will find itself within the country,” said Alexander Twum Barimah, deputy director general of the Narcotics Control Commission in Ghana.

West Africa has long been “a natural stopover” for drugs — mostly cocaine from Latin America — making their way to North Africa and Europe, mostly through maritime routes but increasingly overland, a 2024 report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) noted.

Heroin and meth from Asia also pass through the region, en route from east and southern Africa towards Europe, according to the UN.

While drug profits are higher in Europe, some contraband ends up diverted along the way, notably when low-level traffickers are paid in-kind, experts say.

According to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC), as much as 30 per cent of Europe’s cocaine could be transiting through West Africa, as routes from South America come under pressure from law enforcement and European demand rises.

The problem of drug abuse is not new in West Africa, and some drugs, including cannabis and meth, are produced locally.

But countries in the region can hardly handle the influx from trafficking.

According to 2019 UN data, 14.4 per cent of Nigerians aged between 15 and 64 years had used drugs in the past year — more than double the global average of 5.6 per cent.

That figure is expected to keep rising, Akanidomo Ibanga, Nigeria country project officer for the UNODC, told AFP, due to trafficking, the proliferation of conflict and a booming youth population facing a lack of economic opportunities.

– Rehab centres lacking –

Six states in Nigeria don’t have a single drug treatment centre, while another nine only have one, according to a 2022 count.

The entire country of more than 200 million people has only 2,500 beds, Ibanga said — meaning some 10,000 people can be treated in a given year, out of the estimated three million Nigerians who need help.

On a quiet street on the outskirts of Abuja, the offices of Vanguard Against Drug Abuse lie behind an unmarked gate, indistinguishable from the houses around it, in an effort to provide privacy for those staying there.

Inside are chess boards, a ping pong table and meeting spaces for group therapy. Its 600,000 naira ($400) per month rate for in-patient therapy is described by founder Abraham Hope Omeiza as heavily discounted — but is still nearly nine times the minimum wage.

The 500 or so people Vanguard treats in both in-patient and out-patient therapy each year “is not enough”, Omeiza told AFP.

– Shifting local markets –

Moving drugs through West Africa also entrenches corruption in the region, researchers warn.

In Sierra Leone, investigative journalists have linked Dutch national Jos Leijdekkers, who is on Europol’s most-wanted list for cocaine trafficking, to the local political elite, including the president’s family.

The country, which only has a single psychiatric hospital, is currently battling an epidemic of people using kush — a synthetic cannabinoid used locally — as well as crack, derived from cocaine.

Ibrahim Kargbo, a senior director at the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, told AFP his agency is worried Sierra Leone “is rapidly becoming a trafficking corridor”.

In Ghana, a 2021 survey found cocaine was the most widely abused drug in the greater Accra region, followed by heroin and crack.

The region is also seeing an influx of tramadol, an opioid imported for the domestic market, but which has been aided in part by the success of heroin dealers.

In recent months, Ghanaian authorities have put out education campaigns against “red”, a high-strength variant of tramadol.

“If you are in that space where you cannot afford heroin, you rely on red,” said Maria-Goretti Ane Loglo, who has researched drug use in Ghana.

Nana Twum, a farmer in Ghana’s Western Region, told AFP earlier this year that “when I use them, I feel stronger at work.”

“But I have realised it is affecting me because I become weak when the drug wears off,” he said, adding that he was hoping to wean himself off.

A few weeks later, he was receiving treatment at the Nkwanta Regional Hospital.

“The process has not been easy, but I know it is the best choice,” he said.

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Crime

PHOTOS: Fake Major General arrested in Kaduna

Published

19 hours ago

June 12, 2026

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

Troops of the Nigerian Army have arrested a suspected impostor who allegedly posed as a retired Major General in Kaduna State.

Military sources told Zagazola Makama that the suspect was apprehended on Wednesday, June 11, 2026 by troops of the 312 Artillery Regiment deployed at the Strike Force Base in Sabo area.

The suspect was alleged to have been impersonating retired Major General A.T. Ibrahim.

According to the sources, the arrest followed intelligence that led troops to the suspect at about 9:14 a.m.

“The individual was arrested for allegedly impersonating Maj.-Gen. A.T. Ibrahim (rtd) and is currently in military custody undergoing preliminary investigation,” the source said.

The sources added that the suspect would be handed over to the appropriate authorities for further investigation and possible prosecution after the completion of initial military procedures.

Military authorities have not disclosed the motive behind the alleged impersonation or whether the suspect used the false identity to commit any offence.

However, security agencies said investigations were ongoing to establish the full circumstances surrounding the case and determine whether other persons were involved.

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Crime

PHOTOS: Troops arrest two suspected ISWAP informants in Borno

Published

19 hours ago

June 12, 2026

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

Troops of Operation Hadin Kai have arrested two suspected informants and logistics suppliers linked to Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists in separate operations conducted in Borno State.

The arrests were made by troops operating under Operation Desert Sanity as part of ongoing efforts to dismantle terrorist support networks and disrupt insurgent activities across the North-East.

According to a special operational report released by the Headquarters Joint Task Force (North-East), Operation Hadin Kai, the first suspect, identified as Adams Shittima, 23, was arrested in Damboa town on June 9, 2026 by combined troops of the 19 Battalion and 25 Brigade Garrison in conjunction with members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), security analyst Zagazola Makama reported.

Military sources said the suspect was apprehended while allegedly purchasing farm inputs and mosquito nets intended for terrorist elements operating within Damboa Local Government Area.

Preliminary investigations, according to the report, revealed that the suspect allegedly served as both a logistics supplier and an informant for insurgent groups.

“During preliminary interrogation, the suspect confessed to supplying logistics and providing information to terrorist elements operating within the area,” the report stated.

The military said the suspect is currently undergoing further investigation at the Headquarters of the 25 Brigade to determine the extent of his involvement and identify other members of the network.

In a related development, troops of the 162 Amphibious Battalion arrested another suspected Boko Haram informant later the same day during an operation conducted in the battalion’s area of responsibility.

The suspect was apprehended at a location within the operational area and subsequently taken into custody for interrogation.

Military authorities said the suspect is being held at the Abogo Largema Military Cantonment, where investigations are ongoing.

Security experts have consistently warned that informants and logistics suppliers constitute a critical component of insurgent operations, often providing intelligence on troop movements, facilitating the movement of supplies and helping terrorists evade security operations.

Analysts note that while frontline fighters often attract public attention, support networks made up of informants, couriers and logistics suppliers are essential to the survival and operational effectiveness of terrorist groups.

According to them, sustained operations targeting these networks can significantly weaken insurgent capabilities by disrupting communication channels, restricting access to supplies and limiting their ability to gather intelligence.

The latest arrests come amid intensified intelligence-led operations by troops of Operation Hadin Kai aimed at identifying and dismantling terrorist support structures across the North-East theatre.

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Crime

PHOTOS: Alleged Nigerian drug kingpin arrested in Bangkok after dramatic standoff

Published

19 hours ago

June 12, 2026

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) investigators in Thailand have arrested the alleged head of a Nigerian drug network in a dramatic late-night operation during which the suspect attempted to ram his way through a police blockade.

The arrest was made on Tuesday night, June 9, 2026 during an operation dubbed “Clipping the Wings of the Dodorima Boss” by officers from the MPB and the Bangkok branch of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB).

The suspect, identified as Ikenna Patrick Azubuike, 36, was arrested outside a condominium on Rama III Road in Bangkok’s Yannawa district.

The suspect commonly referred to as Patrick was charged with possessing and selling a Category 2 narcotic (cocaine) without permission, and resisting arrest.

Authorities said further charges related to money laundering are being considered.

The operation led to the seizure of cocaine, a vehicle, cash, funds held in bank accounts and other assets worth more than 700,000 baht.

Investigations that led to the arrest began on May 22, when police investigators, led by MPB deputy commissioner Pol Maj Gen Theeradej Thamsuthee, conducted a raid on a luxury condominium near Phra Nang Klao Bridge in Nonthaburi, which was allegedly being used as a base for a romance scam operation. Six foreign nationals were arrested during that operation.

Later, deputy national police chief Pol Gen Samrarn Nuanma ordered the MPB to widen the investigation, leading to links between the romance scam syndicate and the cocaine trafficking network of a major criminal organisation with more than 300 million baht circulating through its operations.

Investigators said the network operated under the name Dodorima, described as a regional alliance of African criminal figures in Thailand. They are believed to be an off chute of a larger international organisation known as NBM of Africa.

Officers found that members of the group sought to disguise their activities through highly visible charitable donations and community outreach programmes.

Investigators identified Patrick as the apparent leader of the Dodorima network in Thailand.

They said the Nigerian man had lived in Thailand for more than seven years, travelling frequently between Thailand and Africa.

According to police, Patrick initially worked as a street-level cocaine dealer in tourist areas before rising up through the ranks.

Investigators estimated that more than 380 million baht flowed through the network’s accounts over the past year alone.

Authorities also believed he sent substantial sums back to Nigeria, where he allegedly built a large mansion.

The MPB said the investigation proved difficult because the suspect was surrounded by trusted associates and employed sophisticated methods to conceal financial transactions and evade detection.

The investigators eventually discovered that although Patrick was no longer directly involved in most street-level drug sales, he appeared to maintain influence through the distribution of cocaine to prominent clients, leading authorities to launch the operation that resulted in his arrest.

On the day of the arrest, the arresting team tracked Patrick as he drove into a luxury condominium complex on Rama III Road.

The officers attempted to stop his vehicle using a car-blocking strategy, but he reversed into officers in an effort to escape, injuring several.

Pol Maj Gen Theeradej, who led the operation, ordered officers to smash the vehicle’s windows and disable its engine. Patrick was then taken into custody.

A search of the vehicle reportedly uncovered about 18 grammes of cocaine. A subsequent search of his condominium unit led to the seizure of cash and other assets valued at about 700,000 baht.

Following the arrest, investigators said they uncovered intelligence suggesting links to a wider transnational criminal network.

Authorities also found messages in a private group chat in which members appeared to ridicule Thai cocaine users, including one message stating: “The powder they snort comes from our backsides.”

Patrick has been handed over to investigators at Bang Phongphang police station for legal proceedings. Assets seized under anti-money laundering measures have been transferred to the ONCB for further tracing.

During questioning, Patrick partially admitted to the allegations against him, acknowledging involvement with cocaine but denying money-laundering offences.

He claimed the group’s activities centred on charitable donations funded through a fish-export business between Thailand and Nigeria.

The suspect said the word “Dodomira” means “hello”.

Pol Maj Gen Theeradej said the arrest represented a significant blow to a major transnational syndicate, disrupting both drug trafficking and financial laundering activities.

“The MPB would work with the ONCB and international partners to trace financial flows and apprehend all Thai and foreign accomplices linked to the organisation, he said.