By Ebi Kesiena
The Senegalese Navy has successfully thwarted an attempt to transport 690 kilograms of cocaine to Europe via a high-speed boat. The country’s army, in a statement received by AFP on Sunday, disclosed that five Spanish nationals aboard the vessel were apprehended.
The interception took place on Friday, approximately 220 kilometers off the Senegalese coast, when a patrol boat intervened to halt the illicit transport.
According to the statement, the patrol boat had to use verbal warnings and warning shots to stop the boat, which had released its cargo before the intervention. The 690 kilograms of cocaine has been recovered, the statement added.
This recent incident follows two other notable seizures by the Senegalese army on November 28 and December 16, each involving nearly three tons of cocaine at sea. Additionally, in January, the Senegalese navy confiscated over 800 kilograms of cocaine from a vessel off Dakar.
Despite being historically viewed as a transit zone for drugs originating in Latin America en route to Europe, West and Central Africa now grapple with escalating drug consumption, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The successful interception by the Senegalese Navy underscores the region’s commitment to combating drug trafficking and maintaining maritime security.
