Seizure of cocaine on the decrease in Africa - Report

Accra, Feb. 24, GNA - There is a decline in the seizure of cocaine in Africa since 2008 and no large seizures has been recorded in 2009, according to the annual report of the International Narcotic Control Board (INCB). It noted that, this was after years of increasing cocaine trafficking from South America through West Africa to Europe and to a lesser extent to North America.

The report released in Vienna, Austria on Wednesday said smuggling of cocaine however, remained a serious problem and contributed to increasing drug abuse in West Africa.

Madam Naana Ampratwum, Chief Director, Ministry for the Interior on behalf of the Sector Minister, Mr Martin Amidu, announced this at the launching of the 149-paged report organised by the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) in Accra.

The report contains an analysis of the drug control situation worldwide, to keep governments aware of existing and potential situation, that might endanger the objectives of international control treaties. It said cocaine, estimated at about one billion dollars, was trafficked through Africa and West African distribution networks in Europe appeared to have remained intact.

The report said Africa continued to be vulnerable to the diversion o= f the chemical precursor's ephedrine and pseudo ephedrine, used in the illicit manufacture of methamphetamine in Central and North America, and called for the urgent need for African countries to improve their national mechanisms for precursor control. It noted that cannabis remained the drug most widely produced, trafficked and abused in Africa and that cannabis destined for Europe, was produced in North Africa. Heroin continued to enter Africa mainly though the countries in East= Africa, but increasingly through islands in the Indian Ocean and as a spill-over effect, Mauritius had the highest levels of abuse of heroin in= Africa.

The report said from East Africa, part of the heroin is smuggled to West Africa, especially to Cote d'Ivoire and from Europe and North Americ= a. "While the number and size of heroin seizures in West Africa remained=

very small, the organised crime networks based in the sub-region play a k= ey role in supplying the drug worldwide," it added.