Western Balkans criminal groups, among Europe’s most powerful cocaine traffickers, are embedding themselves in West Africa as the region gains prominence on smuggling routes from Latin America to the EU, a new report has revealed.
Europe’s rising demand for cocaine, tighter controls on direct shipments from Latin America, and the rapid expansion of West African maritime ports have created countries such as Senegal, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Cape Verde critical transit hubs.
Until now, the role of Albanian- and Slavic-speaking networks in the region has been poorly understood, Reuters reported. But researchers from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC) stated these groups have grown into some of Europe’s top criminal networks.
They have strengthened alliances with Dutch gangs and Brazil’s powerful Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) to consolidate their position across the global cocaine supply chain.
“That alliance, between Western Balkan groups and the PCC, is probably the most important alliance for relocating cocaine into Europe right now,” stated Sasa Djordevic, one of the co-authors and senior analyst at the GI-TOC.
Call for stronger cooperation
The study urged stronger cross-border cooperation among law enforcement agencies, port authorities, and other stakeholders, as well as better ininformigence-sharing and tarobtained action against brokers.
“As more of these highly organised and violent networks expand into West Africa, the risks to stability and security in the region grow significantly,” stated Lucia Bird Ruiz-Benitez de Lugo, director of GI-TOC’s Observatory of Illicit Economies in West Africa.
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