Drugs bound for Libya seized in Niger

Libyan Cloud News Agency – Niger

Police forces in Niger have seized 17 tonnes of cannabis resin worth around $37 million in a shipment originating in Lebanon and bound for Libya.

The spokesman for Niger Anti-drugs Trafficking Agency Adili Toro said on Friday that the drugs had passed through the Togolese port of Lome before being transported by truck north to the Nigerien capital Niamey, over 1,000 km and two border crossings away.

The haul was seized on March 2 from warehouses in Niamey. The traffickers had planned to transport the drugs in trucks to Libya via the desert town of Agadez, a hub for smuggling goods and migrants across the Saharan desert.

Toro added that it is the largest cannabis seizure in Niger’s history and the first shipment of drugs known to have come from Lebanon.

He confirmed that 11 Nigeriens and two Algerians in Niamey were arrested in connection with the case.