The Gulf of Guinea and West Africa: a new focal point?

[KingJaja]

David,

You know we have meth labs in Lagos now?

I'm told the meth is for export.

[davidbfpo]

King Jaja,

Meth labs in Nigeria, even if for export, is a bad sign. I rely on the anecdotes given to me when out with US LE a few years ago in Montana. To my knowledge 'meth' is virtually unknown here in the UK. Is South Africa the market for the producers?

[KingJaja]

It is VERY serious, FIVE labs have been discovered JUST THIS YEAR.

David,

Authorities in Lagos have discovered the fifth illegal methamphetamine production centre in just one year, deepening fears Nigeria is a narcotics hub and part of a worldwide network.

The anti-drugs agency says the West African country is producing meth on a large scale.

The highly addictive drug is known by several names, including meth, ice and crystal. It is usually injected, but it can also be smoked or inhaled.

Mild doses can increase alertness and concentration, but high doses can cause psychological problems including paranoia and hallucinations.

Nigeria used to be a transit point through which illegal drugs from Mexico passed on their way to Europe.

Mitchell Ofojeyu, a spokesman for the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency, said: "They have an international network because they're bringing in Bolivians into West Africa to produce Methamphetamine; [it] shows the synergy the drug cells in West Africa have with their counterparts in other regions of the world."

http://www.aljazeera.com/video/afric...354435412.html

[davidbfpo]

Hope, good intentions, internal and external pressure on this 'narco-state' have resulted in:

Political, military, and civil society leaders have agreed on a new transition deal, according to which elections should be held by November this year, a new head of the national election commission appointed, and a new, more inclusive, interim government formed.

Link:http://country.eiu.com/article.aspx?...70377511&uid=1

[davidbfpo]

A Reuters report on West African piracy, which lays much of the blame on Nigerian gangs, as illustrated by this passage:

Nigerian pirates can make in 10 days what Somalis make in 10 months....It's easier to offload oil to the local black market than negotiate ransom with foreign ship owners.

The usual references to greater regional co-operation, with external (EU) funding for coastguard training. When as a speaker at IISS last week remarked:

The main OCG is the state.

Another contributor pointed to the huge diversion under-way in Nigeria of oil, which can only be explained by systematic and widespread collusion, including purchases by the international oil companies. IIRC 10% of production was missing.

Link To Reuters:http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...0BIAJ520130529

Link to IISS talk on West African crime and development:http://www.iiss.org/en/events/events...velopment-98fd

[davidbfpo]

A commentary by RUSI, a general overview, with one new item (highlighted below) and ends on a rather pessimistic conclusion:

While the consequences of the Arab Spring and the spectre of terrorism has renewed the international community's interest in West Africa, and tackling organised crime in the region remains a priority for European member states, the increasingly visible crime-terror nexus points to a situation out of control.

The new item, with my emphasis:

Late last month, UK Border Force officials seized cocaine valued at over £17 million at the Port of Tilbury in Essex. While the value of the drugs is not the largest on record, what makes this particular seizure of interest is that the drugs are believed to have been smuggled via Senegal to Europe by an Al-Qa'ida affiliated group. If confirmed, this will be the first time an Islamist terrorist group has attempted to ship a considerable amount of Class A drugs directly to Europe from West Africa and is a significant step for Al-Qa'ida in the Maghreb (AQIM) in terms of both funding and operations. Officials believe the cocaine was part of a major deal between AQIM and FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) who provided cocaine in return for weapons the Islamist terrorist group had procured - possibly from Libya. The seizure of such a large volume of drugs suggests a transnational network not seen since FARC and the IRA collaborated in the early years of the last decade.

Link:http://www.rusi.org/analysis/comment...5193598A7994E/

No-one else appears to have considered the apparent linkage between AQIM & FARC - well in the public domain. Tilbury is one of the UK's busiest container ports, with not infrequent seizures before of cocaine. The method for this shipment was to put six holdalls atop a load of tin alloys from Senegal, with a tarpaulin over the container and cargo seals in place - a load in transit to Belgium:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-22251528

[davidbfpo]

The website of the West African Commission on Drugs (WACD):

The Commission comprises a group of distinguished West Africans from the worlds of politics, civil society, health, security and the judiciary.

Link:http://www.wacommissionondrugs.org/