Zinder: record cocaine seizure, Benin mentioned as a corridor

The market value of the drug is estimated at 16.08 billion FCFA, a national record that highlights a drug trafficking corridor passing through Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria before joining the Sahelo-Saharan routes to Libya.

According to gathered information, the operation was triggered by an operational intelligence report indicating the movement of a suspicious truck coming from Accra. Immobilized at the entrance of Zinder, the vehicle revealed secret compartments set up to conceal the cargo.

Eight Nigerien suspects have been arrested, while accomplices are being sought in Niger, Ghana, and Togo. License plates from several countries were discovered during the searches, confirming the cross-border logistics of the network.

A Marked Criminal Route

Investigators have reconstructed the path of the cargo: starting from Accra, it transited through Lomé, then through Kandi in Benin, before reaching Sokoto in Nigeria and entering Niger via Konni, Maradi, and Zinder.

The presumed final destination was Libya. Thus, Benin appears to be a key step in this criminal corridor connecting the ports of the Gulf of Guinea to the Saharan routes.

The alleged brains behind the network, Hamadou Samey Issa alias “the Malian,” is already involved in a seizure of 51.7 kg of cocaine that took place in September 2025 in Gaya, at the Beninese border. Currently on the run, he is wanted under an international arrest warrant.

The case will be forwarded to the specialized judicial pole in Niamey concerning the fight against terrorism and organized transnational crime.

Cotonou Port Under Surveillance

This case highlights the vulnerability of the logistical axes linked to Cotonou port. In February 2026, a vehicle intercepted at Illela was concealing 800,000 ecstasy tablets valued at 8 billion FCFA.

More recently, on May 16, 2026, the Beninese USPFM seized 90 kg of cocaine in the Cotonou port basin.

The accumulation of these seizures illustrates the consolidation of drug trafficking corridors linking West African maritime fronts to the Saharan hinterland. Faced with a criminal architecture of such scale, involving at least five states, the response can only be a strengthened regional security coordination.