Show Cocaine finds Africa Antonio Maria Costa Special to The Washington Post West Africa is under attack The region has become a hub for cocaine smuggling from Latin America to Europe States that we seldom hear about such as Guinea-Bissau Guinea and neighboring Guinea are at risk of being captured by drug cartels in collusion with corrupt forces in government and the military With the exception of cannabis in Morocco Africa never used to have havea a drug problem That has changed however in inthe the past five years Around 50 tons of cocaine are being shipped from the Andean countries to Europe via West Vest Africa every year year year- and that is a conservative estimate Actual amounts could be at least five times higher The volume seized is rising sharply from kilograms in 2003 to in 2006 to in 2007 This steep increase will no doubt continue This month alone more than kilos were seized in a plane with fake Red Cross markings at atthe atthe atthe the airport in Freetown Sierra Leone and at the international airport in Bissau several hundred boxes were unloaded from froma a jet he profiteers in this illicit trade mostly but not only Latinos stand standout standout standout out on the streets of West African towns They drive luxury cars buy up the best hotels and are building haciendas and other opulent examples of Law enforcement has been helpless against this onslaught Drug planes dont don't have to fly below the radar because in most cases there is no radar or electricity Soldiers sometimes help smugglers by closing airports and unloading the cargo Police cars run out of gas when giving chase or are left in inthe inthe inthe the dust by smugglers' smugglers all- all terrain vehicles There are areno areno areno no local navies to intercept the ships coming from Latin America or to chase the horsepower 2000 boats that speed drugs up the coast to Europe Traffickers are seldom brought to trial in some cases there are no prisons to put them in Even when they are charged they are usually released because evidence is not collected or needed laws are not in place Drugs have become a security issue Drug money is perverting the weak economies economics of the region In some cases the value of the drugs being trafficked is greater than a country's national income The influence that this buys is rotting these fragile states traffickers are buying favors and protection from candidates in elections Quick intervention by the international community five years ago prevented a crisis in Cape Verde but the cartels merely shifted their operations to Guinea- Guinea Bissau Now Guinea is under threat Guineas Guinea's neighbor Sierra Leone could be next Without i r a regional response the problem will move from country to country Containing this threat will not be easy P Poverty verty is the biggest problem These countries are arc the worst performers on the human development index their populations at atthe atthe atthe the bottom of the bottom billion Unemployed and desperate youths are vulnerable to being recruited as foot soldiers for criminal groups West Vest African countries must take control of their coasts and airspace This requires hardware boats planes and radar know-how know investigative techniques and container security and narcotics counter-narcotics intelligence Some of these capabilities can be developed nationally but some assistance will have to come from abroad Cooperation among customs officials border guards the police and narcotics counter-narcotics agents at ports and airports for example has made Cape Verde a less attractive transit point for drug traffickers The same approach should be adopted el elsewhere Because the drug trade defies borders regional cooperation is vital particularly intelligence- intelligence sharing Stronger legal cooperation among West African nations would enable more effective extradition mutual legal assistance and confiscation of the proceeds of crime Working contacts must must- also between countries of origin and destination in South America and Europe respectively In some cases mechanisms for sharing intelligence-sharing are under construction But measures and even laws to fight organized crime and corruption will be meaningless without the political will and capacity to implement them Too often drugs that are seized disappear instead of being destroyed Judges police and witnesses are intimidated Security forces turn a blind eye or orlend orlend orlend lend a hand to smuggling The highest authorities must recognize the stakes Their failure to act is a helplessness or complicity Political will would be strengthened if regional leaders were rewarded for their integrity and punished for corruption At the moment the honest ones feel abandoned and the crooked ones act with impunity We must reduce vulnerability to drugs and crime with greater development And greater justice would build faith in the rule of law West Africa's drug trafficking problem is still re relatively small compared with that of West Asia the Caribbean or Latin Lati America But it is growing exponentially and threatens to turn rum the region into a center of lawlessness Such instability is the last thing Africa needs The affected countries and the international community must act before the situation spirals out of control t |