Mali has charged a Malian, a Spaniard and a Frenchman with "international trafficking in cocaine" in connection with its investigation into a drug-loaded plane that landed in its desert north in 2009

The amount of cocaine trafficked through West Africa has been declining steadily over the past four years, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

G8 powers Tuesday launched a strategy to curb drug trafficking by sharing intelligence particularly targeting west Africa, a major transit region for cocaine from Latin America to Europe

Sheryl Cwele, the wife of South African Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele, was sentenced to 12 years in jail for trafficking cocaine, National Prosecuting Authority spokeswoman Natasha Ramkisson said

One hundred kilograms of cocaine worth an estimated N1.1 billion was seized at the Lagos ports on Friday last week by the Presidential Joint Task Force set up by the Federal Government to ensure 100 percent physical examination of cargoes coming into the country, it was revealed yesterday.

There has been a 20% drop in cases of narcotic drug trafficking, according to the 2009 annual Police crime report. The report noted that the fall was because Uganda was fast turning into a consumer rather than a conduit of the illicit substances

At least two tonnes of cocaine with a street value estimated at $1bn has been seized in The Gambia, bound for Europe

Liberia has deported seven people to the US after they were arrested for allegedly trying to ship 4,000kg of cocaine there, the goverment says

Political instability, lawlessness and drug trafficking have combined in a vicious circle to weaken the state.