Senegal navy intercepts three tonnes of cocaine in largest burst in five years

Nearly 3 tonnes of pure cocaine have been seized by the Senegalese navy patrol from a vessel it intercepted 150 km off the coast.

Authorities intercepted the ship late Sunday night, according to a Senegalese army communiqué issued on Tuesday.

The operation is the largest seizure of cocaine in Senegal in the last five years.

In a statement, the military announced that the boat and its cargo had been escorted to Admiral Faye Gassama Naval Base in Dakar, the capital, where they were handed over to the relevant authorities.

The Military Information and Public Relations Directorate did not specify the origin or destination of the illicit cargo.

The operation is the largest seizure of cocaine in Senegal in the last five years.

Senegal is considered a simple transit zone for drugs produced in Latin America, West Africa, and Central Africa and is rated among the regions of high consumption, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

The UN anti-narcotics agency explained that about 57 tonnes of cocaine were seized in West Africa or en route to the region between 2019 and 2022.

In October 2022, Senegalese customs announced the arrest of 300 kilograms of cocaine, worth roughly 37 million euros, in a refrigerated truck arriving from neighboring Mali.