Guinea-Bissau/ Authorities seize record 2.63 tonnes of Cocaine in Major airport bust
Guinea-Bissau officials have reported the largest drug bust in the country’s history, seizing 2.63 tonnes of cocaine from a plane at Osvaldo Vieira International Airport in the capital, Bissau.
The plane, which had arrived from Venezuela, was searched by authorities on Saturday, leading to the discovery of at least 78 bales of cocaine.
The operation, named “Operation Landing,” was conducted with the support of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the European-based Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre–Narcotics.
The international effort highlights the country’s ongoing role as a transit hub for drugs heading to Europe, a problem that has earned it the label of a “narco-state” by the United Nations.
The plane involved in the bust was reportedly registered in Mexico, and all five crew members—two Mexicans, a Colombian, an Ecuadorian, and a Brazilian—were taken into custody.
The suspects are expected to appear in court soon, as the authorities aim to dismantle the broader drug trafficking network behind this incident.
Guinea-Bissau, a West African nation plagued by political instability, has long been exploited by drug cartels, taking advantage of weak state institutions that have been undermined by decades of coups.
Since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974, the country has experienced nine coups, leaving it vulnerable to organized crime.
Earlier this year, a U.S. court sentenced the son of Guinea-Bissau’s former president to over six years in prison for leading an international heroin trafficking ring, underscoring the nation’s ongoing struggles with the drug trade and its global ramifications.
Source: bbc.com
