Progress made in countertrafficking efforts in Africa

The Department of Defense recently reported on efforts being made in confronting drug trafficking in West Africa. The West Africa Cooperative Security Initiative is meeting the threat head on.

West Africa’s rampant political instability, corruption, and poverty have created a welcoming climate for traffickers. Europe’s growing cocaine market has also been a lure for traffickers. In recent years, there has also been an increase in trafficking southwest Asian heroin and methamphetamine. West Africa has seen a rise in trafficking-related crime, including armed robbery and piracy as well.

As a partner in the State Department’s West Africa Cooperative Security Initiative, DoD focuses on strengthening regional counter-drug forces. This is accomplished through train and equipping counter-drug forces, information sharing, and building infrastructure. DoD and law enforcement partners also train personnel in airport interdiction and other counter-drug skills.

DoD has seen success in the counter-drug measures with the establishment of the new Counternarcotics and Maritime Interagency Operations Center in Cape Verde. Similar efforts are also underway in Nigeria and Kenya, and the operations centers are already being hailed as cornerstones in cooperative counter-drug efforts in West Africa.

For more information on DoD’s counter-drug efforts in West Africa, please follow the link below.
DOD, Agencies Cooperate to Confront West Africa Trafficking, Department of Defense


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