Audio By Carbonatix
Ivory Coast’s navy has seized a record amount of cocaine plastic-wrapped in small bundles bearing the tattered logos of French fashion house Louis Vuitton and Pacena Black, a dark beer from Bolivia.
The 411 kilograms of cocaine destined for the commercial capital Abidjan came from a Spanish-flagged ship that had been spotted by the navy idling 250 km (155 miles) off the coast since Jan. 30, the navy said in a statement on Wednesday.
The ship offloaded the drugs onto a smaller boat which was picked up by a special unit of the Ivorian navy on Monday at about 1830 GMT, the navy said. Five people were also taken into custody.
It was not yet clear where the cocaine originated from or who was responsible for trafficking it.
Camera footage provided by the Ivorian navy on Wednesday showed hundreds of the seized packages laid out on tables.
Major drug hauls in Ivory Coast are rare, but over the last 18 months several large cocaine seizures have been made along the West African Atlantic Coast, a frequent stopping point for South American cocaine heading to Europe. About 40 tonnes pass through the region annually, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
About 9.5 tonnes were seized in the island archipelago of Cape Verde last year in one of the biggest hauls ever. Last September, police in Guinea-Bissau seized more than 1.8 tonnes hidden in flour bags, the biggest in the country’s history.
Latest Stories
-
Zelensky signals progress in talks with US on peace plan
10 minutes -
Don’t scrap OSP – Anti-corruption CSO demands review
3 hours -
GIS, EU vow closer security cooperation to boost northern border control
4 hours -
IGP leads major show of force with new armoured fleet
5 hours -
Two female prison officers killed in ghastly crash
6 hours -
Abolish or Reform? Abu Jinapor counsels sober reflection on debate over future of Special Prosecutor’s Office
7 hours -
2026 World Cup: Can Ghana navigate England, Croatia, and Panama in Group L?
8 hours -
NAIMOS task force arrests 9 Chinese illegal miners, destroys equipment at Dadieso
8 hours -
NAIMOS advances into Atiwa Forest, uncovers child labour, river diversion and heavy machinery
8 hours -
NAIMOS Task Force storms Fanteakwa South, dismantles galamsey operations
9 hours -
The Kissi Agyebeng Removal Bid: A Look at the Numbers
9 hours -
DVLA to roll out digitised accident reports, new number plates and 24-hour services
10 hours -
DVLA Workers’ Union opens 2025 Annual Residential Delegates Congress with call for excellence, equity and solidarity
10 hours -
Scholarships Secretariat sets December 8–9 interviews for Commonwealth Scholarship applicants
10 hours -
WASSCE decline reveals deep gaps, there’s need to overhaul education system – Franklin Cudjoe
11 hours
