Guinea-Bissau’s Judicial Police has seized 2.63 tonnes of cocaine found on an aircraft at the country’s international airport, after information was shared by international partners that an aircraft would be flying to the country from Venezuela loaded with cocaine.
After landing at the Osvaldo Vieira International airport, the rapid intervention from the aforementioned Guinean authorities resulted in the seizure of 78 bales along the passenger’s cabin.
Besides the 2633 Kg of cocaine seized, the Guinean authorities were able to arrest the five crew members, including two Mexicans, one Colombian, one Ecuadorian, and one Brazilian.
This large-scale international operation supported by MAOC-N, was made possible through extensive cooperation and information sharing between several partners, including the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Portuguese Judicial Police (PJ) and the Colombian Air Force. This investigation has also been assisted by INTERPOL and the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC), who have been playing an important role in identifying and combating the criminal networks responsible for flow of aircraft loaded with cocaine, flying from South America into West Africa.
West Africa has been a known transit point in global drug trafficking, with narcotics being smuggled through the region. MAOC-N and its partner countries continue their efforts to combat the flow of these narcotics by sea and air, which are often destined for Europe.
MAOC-N extends its gratitude to the Judicial Police of Guinea Bissau for this tremendous effort and its continuous endeavors in tackling transatlantic drug smuggling in this problematic area.
