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Cocaine flowing through West Africa 'fuelling corruption and crack use'

An increase in cocaine trafficking through West Africa is fuelling corruption in some countries, reaching the highest levels of government, a report published this week warns. At least 30 percent of cocaine bound for Europe now passes through the region, while growing volumes of the drug are also being consumed locally, including in the form of crack.


Issued on: 11/03/2026 - RFI

People gather around a speedboat believed to be used by drug traffickers as it unloads cargo at a quay in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. West Africa has become a major transit route for cocaine bound for Europe. A

SSOCIATED PRESS - Rebecca Blackwell

The analysis comes from a report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC), a Geneva-based NGO that studies crime networks.

Rising cocaine production in Latin America and growing demand in Europe have pushed more shipments through West Africa in recent years.

Seizures have climbed steadily since 2019, reaching around 30 tonnes in 2025, according to data compiled by the organisation.

Authorities have also recorded record interceptions, including up to 10 tonnes seized on a single boat, something the report says did not occur before 2019.

Corruption along the route

Traffickers are increasingly using West Africa as a route to Europe because it is considered less risky than more direct paths.

Corruption among intermediaries can reduce the chances that shipments will be seized along the way.

“In some countries these are political actors, sometimes at the highest levels of the state. In others they are officials working at ports or airports,” report author Lucia Bird said.

“The profits generated by the cocaine trade are reaching record levels, and the resources available to fuel corruption have also increased.”

The cocaine market has become “an attractive source of income for civil servants and political elites” in West Africa the report said, noting that the involvement of some officials in trafficking is increasing.

In January 2025, Sierra Leone recalled its ambassador to Guinea after suitcases filled with cocaine were discovered in vehicles belonging to the embassy.

Since 2021, several public scandals have also implicated ministers in Guinea-Bissau in cocaine trafficking.

Spread of crack cocaine

The intensifying cocaine trade is also driving growing consumption in West Africa, with use increasing in several countries including Senegal and crack cocaine becoming more common.

GI-TOC said governments in the region should treat cocaine consumption “as a public health problem and not only as a challenge for the criminal justice system”.

West Africa is also taking on a larger role in the global cocaine trade.

The region “no longer serves only as a corridor to Europe. It is increasingly being used as a platform for storage, repackaging and distribution in global cocaine supply chains,” said Mouhamadou Kane, another author of the report.

Maritime trade plays an important role in this system.

Cocaine can be hidden inside goods exported from the region, including cashews, cocoa, timber and other commercial products.

Existing trade routes linking West Africa with Turkey, the Middle East, India and some Asian markets also offer new opportunities for criminal networks.

These routes allow traffickers to diversify their operations and reach expanding markets beyond Europe, Kane said.