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August 16, 2007
Nouakchott - Authorities in
Mauritania said on Wednesday that they
had arrested three foreigners and two
locals in connection with the seizure
of 860kg of cocaine, the West African
country's biggest drugs bust.
"Five people have been arrested
in connection with this affair: two
Mauritanians, one Western Saharan, one
Mexican and one Spaniard," police
commissioner Ely Ould Sneiba, director
of the country's anti-drugs office,
told Reuters.
Mauritanian authorities said on Monday
they had made the latest find while
investigating those behind the
smuggling of more than 600kg of
cocaine seized after a small plane
made an emergency landing at the
northern port of Nouadhibou in May.
West Africa has become a major hub
for Colombian cocaine being trafficked
to markets in Europe, where street
prices are significantly higher than
in the United States.
Police in Mauritania's southern
neighbour Senegal this month
incinerated nearly 2.5 tons of cocaine
seized in June after a deserted
sailing yacht loaded with the drug
drifted into a popular coastal resort.
That seizure, which led to the arrests
of suspects from countries including
Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and
France, was thought to be the biggest
in the region.
International arrest warrants have been issued for four other suspects believed to be in neighbouring countries, he said.
The region has become a major hub for Colombian cocaine being trafficked to markets in Europe.
The authorities found the drugs while investigating the smuggling of more than 600 kg of cocaine discovered in May.
That was seized after a small plane made an emergency landing at the northern port of Nouadhibou, police said on Monday.
Ely Ould Sneiba, director of the country's anti-drugs office, said: "During our investigations we noticed a parked minibus which looked different from other such vehicles even though it had registration plates from this country."
Drugs route
UN drugs officials estimated that cocaine was worth around $42,000 per kg on arrival in Europe during 2005, which would put the wholesale value of Monday's seizure at well over $30m.
Law-enforcement officials say Guinea Bissau, which adjoins Mauritania's southern neighbour Senegal, is used as a hub by Latin American cartels to traffick drugs to Europe.
Mauritania is sparsely populated, has a long Atlantic coastline and stretches deep into the Sahara, making it "a perfect backdrop" for trafficking, Kissy Agyeman, a London-based Africa analyst for risk consultancy Global Insight, says.
"Security controls in Mauritania remain a problem for curbing the illicit entry of drugs, often bound for European destinations, because vast swathes of desert coastline are unmanned."
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