A recent report by the UN Secretary-General says the government and the Army in Guinea Bissau are implicated in drug trafficking.
Two Columbians recently arrested for money laundering and illegal possession of firearms in the West African country have since been released and their whereabouts are unknown.
According to Antonio Mazzitelli, West African Regional Representative of the UN office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) there are dozens of documented cases of drugs being intercepted in Guinea Bissau but few people have been charged.
It is widely reported that African countries have become the target of drug trafficking groups and a popular transit point for the shipment of drugs such as cocaine and herione.
VOA reporter Akwei Thompson asked Antonio Mazzitelli about the validity of the UN Secretary-General’s report.
“The report is certainly a valid report. It has just been submitted to the Security Council. So whatever is contained in the report reflects the situation in the country.”
Mazzitelli said West Africa is definitely becoming an important point in the trafficking of cocaine from Latin America
“Trafficking of drugs in West Africa is accompanied by many other trafficking, we are talking of human beings, we’re talking of the smuggling of migrants, arms, natural resources, contraband, so it’s an overall situation of illegality”, he added.