Its chief exports? Cashews, shrimp and cocaine. Cocaine, in a country with no coca bush? That's right. More than four tons of cocaine have been seized in West Africa this year, a 35 percent increase over the entire haul for 2006. Drugs are also being seized in international waters off the Gulf of Guinea.
One reason why this region is becoming a major drug trafficking hub is its location. West Africa is an ideal staging point along the route from South America to the cocaine markets of Europe. Big shipments are hidden on fishing boats and freighters, then broken up into smaller consignments that are sent by fast boats up the coast to Morocco or Spain. Moreover, Africa's weak states offer the least resistance as a substitute for traditional cocaine smuggling routes in Central America and the Caribbean, which are being blocked. Many countries in the region cannot control their own territory, cannot administer justice, and are plagued by corruption.
