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High office: Mayor is arrested after being caught transporting 440lbs of cocaine worth $9million in his official truck in Niger
By Reuters and Chris Pleasance
04 Jan 2022
Mayor and has driver stopped heading out of city of Agadez , Niger, on Sunday
Police searching vehicle found 440lbs of cocaine worth around $9million
Pair were arrested, sources said, though cops have not officially confirmed it
Niger, in west Africa, is a major smuggling route for drugs and people where dozens of terror groups including Boko Haram, ISIS and Al Qaeda operate
A mayor from the west African country of Niger has been arrested after police found 440lbs of cocaine stashed in his official truck.
The mayor, who has not been named, was stopped on Sunday at a police checkpoint while being driven north from the city of Agadez.
Officers say 199 bricks of cocaine were found in the truck - weighing 440lbs and worth around $9million - and that the mayor and his driver were arrested.
A mayor and his driver were arrested Sunday by police who found 440lbs of cocaine in his official vehicle as it was driving north out of the city of Agadez
Two anonymous police sources confirmed the arrests to Reuters, but without naming either of the arrested men.
Niger's Central Office for the Repression of Illicit Drug Trafficking also confirmed that a record amount of cocaine had been seized in Agadez, but without mentioning where it was found or any arrests in connection with it.
A vast desert state on the western edge of the Sahara, Niger is ranked as one of the world's least-developed countries by the UN and is beset by entrenched poverty, corruption, political instability and violence.
With few natural resources it has become a magnet for black market trading in smuggled goods, drugs, and people.
A major route for migrants hoping to reach Europe from southern African states runs through the country, as does a major drug smuggling route from South America.
By Reuters and Chris Pleasance
04 Jan 2022
Mayor and has driver stopped heading out of city of Agadez , Niger, on Sunday
Police searching vehicle found 440lbs of cocaine worth around $9million
Pair were arrested, sources said, though cops have not officially confirmed it
Niger, in west Africa, is a major smuggling route for drugs and people where dozens of terror groups including Boko Haram, ISIS and Al Qaeda operate
A mayor from the west African country of Niger has been arrested after police found 440lbs of cocaine stashed in his official truck.
The mayor, who has not been named, was stopped on Sunday at a police checkpoint while being driven north from the city of Agadez.
Officers say 199 bricks of cocaine were found in the truck - weighing 440lbs and worth around $9million - and that the mayor and his driver were arrested.
A mayor and his driver were arrested Sunday by police who found 440lbs of cocaine in his official vehicle as it was driving north out of the city of Agadez
Two anonymous police sources confirmed the arrests to Reuters, but without naming either of the arrested men.
Niger's Central Office for the Repression of Illicit Drug Trafficking also confirmed that a record amount of cocaine had been seized in Agadez, but without mentioning where it was found or any arrests in connection with it.
A vast desert state on the western edge of the Sahara, Niger is ranked as one of the world's least-developed countries by the UN and is beset by entrenched poverty, corruption, political instability and violence.
With few natural resources it has become a magnet for black market trading in smuggled goods, drugs, and people.
A major route for migrants hoping to reach Europe from southern African states runs through the country, as does a major drug smuggling route from South America.
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