US Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, William Brownfield
United States has said 13 per cent of global cocaine flow moves through
West Africa. Ironically, in spite of Africa's recent impressive
economic growth, the continent accounts for less than two per cent of
global trade.
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law
Enforcement Affairs, William Brownfield, in his testimony on Wednesday
before the US Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control in
Washington, described growing presence of narcotics and
narcotics-related criminal networks in West Africa as a significant
emerging threat to regional and global security interests.
“Transnational organised crime, including drug trafficking, is a major
threat to security and governance throughout West Africa,” Brownfield
said, adding, “traffickers are moving drugs, people, small arms, oil,
cigarettes, counterfeit medicine, and toxic waste through the region,
generating large profits for transnational criminal networks.”
Noting that cocaine trafficking is one of the most lucrative of these
illicit activities, he cited United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC) estimates which put proceeds from these illicit activities at
approximately $3.34 billion a year.
He said while most of the cocaine moving through West Africa lands in
Europe, the proceeds flow back to organisations that move cocaine to
America, thereby reinforcing their financial strength and motivation to
continue exploiting emerging routes for drug sales.
Brownfield said: “Drug trafficking in West Africa directly harms
Americans. We are also starting to see drug trafficking in the West
African region expand from cocaine to include heroin, which does come to
American streets.”
He said another reason drug trafficking in the region deserves
particular attention, was its destabilising impact across the region,
and the fact that it also undercuts US policy priorities in West Africa
such as security, democracy and good governance.
The senior US official said the potential for drugs to contribute to destabilisation in the region was clearly seen in the case of Guinea-Bissau, where most of the country’s leadership had been implicated in drug trafficking.
The senior US official said the potential for drugs to contribute to destabilisation in the region was clearly seen in the case of Guinea-Bissau, where most of the country’s leadership had been implicated in drug trafficking.
Brownfield further noted that in the region: “The proceeds of drug
trafficking are fuelling a dramatic increase in narco-corruption,
including the form of contributions to election campaigns in West
Africa. Criminal networks are co-opting government officials and
security forces – the very actors responsible for fighting crime.”
“They seriously compromise the effectiveness of anticorruption and
institution-building efforts as they permeate political and state
administration institutions and build corrupt networks with state
officials to facilitate or reduce the risks and costs of their
operations.”
He said in some countries, such as Nigeria and Ghana, US assistance
would focus on building capacity to detect, disrupt, and dismantle drug
trafficking networks, while in post-conflict countries like Liberia and
Sierra Leone, the next step would be to enhance basic law enforcement.
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