Namibia used as transit point by cocaine cartels
Political connections used to conceal drug syndicates
A global report on cocaine smuggling says Namibia is a transit point for cocaine coming from Latin America - despite frantic efforts by the authorities to prevent drugs being smuggled into the country.
Along with other transit points in southern Africa, Namibia's border posts and the Walvis Bay port are believed to play an increasingly important role as a transit route for smuggling cocaine from Latin American countries.
Apart from local markets within southern Africa, most of the cocaine that lands here is destined for Europe, West Asia, East Asia and Australia.
This is according to a report released last week by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC).
Jason Eligh, GI-TOC’s senior researcher in illegal drug trafficking markets and a policy analyst, referred to Walvis Bay as one of the popular havens for cocaine smuggling in his report entitled ‘A Powder Storm: The cocaine markets of east and southern Africa’.
He also listed the port of Durban in South Africa, Pemba and Nacala in Mozambique, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar in Tanzania as well as Mombasa in Kenya as hotspots.
Strong political connections
“Cargo containers on ships to these ports often carry large loads of cocaine of a tonne or more, with established smuggling groups behind it who - for a long time – have dominated both legal and illegal activity along the coastal areas. They usually have strong political connections.
"The cargo that arrives at the above-mentioned ports are often stored or repackaged to be transported further by ship or overland with cargo containers. Smaller quantities of the loads are usually held out as payment or to be sold by local suppliers,” Eligh said.
He referred to 412 kilograms of cocaine bricks discovered by the Namibian Police in 2018.
It was hidden in a cargo container as 'photostat paper' and was apparently shipped from Santos in Brazil to Walvis Bay via Cape Town.
"Walvis Bay is a link in transnational and regional drug supply chains, especially when it comes to the transit route to Botswana," he claimed.
He added that this smuggling route apparently runs from the port via the Trans-Kalahari route through Gaborone and Johannesburg.
"In addition, the Zambezi Region's Four Points border post at the eastern end of the Caprivi strip is also an important transit point to Zambia and Botswana for illegal drugs, especially cocaine.”
He said Botswana's Sir Seretse Khama International Airport in Gaborone and Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport should be investigated as points used for the transnational micro-smuggling of cocaine.
Inaccurate picture
Although Namibia is an important transit point for the drug, the domestic market for cocaine did not form part of the study.
Eligh said cocaine is widely available in the region and the limited confiscation of it does not provide an accurate picture of the volumes of the drug flowing through the area.
Smuggling networks use both air and sea navigation for their operations, with the Mozambique Channel in particular having a major deficit when it comes to law enforcement and the monitoring of their waters.
Eligh said the canal presents a growing threat to the region's security.
"The risk exists that Madagascar could soon become a strong centre and transit point for cocaine as well as other illegal cargo...”
He added that information and monitoring of drug markets is limited, with most of the countries' law enforcement officers not even knowing the basic characteristics of their domestic drug markets.
Complicity, corruption
“Regional markets for cocaine are promoted by dysfunctional governments as well as institutional complicity and corruption,” he said.
“The regional drug trade is strengthened by collusion of state agencies, corruption and state capture. It is further fuelled by an inability to enforce laws, incompetence and in some cases, a never-mind [attitude]," he said.
The report also indicated that America is now less of a preferred market for cocaine, and that smugglers are aiming for markets in Europe, which has led to a boom in smuggling routes along the Atlantic coastline.
"The growing cocaine markets of east and southern Africa are playing an increasingly prominent role in the transnational flow of the drug. At the same time, more and more cocaine is landing in these countries' local markets.”
Apart from local markets within southern Africa, most of the cocaine that lands here is destined for Europe, West Asia, East Asia and Australia.
This is according to a report released last week by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC).
Jason Eligh, GI-TOC’s senior researcher in illegal drug trafficking markets and a policy analyst, referred to Walvis Bay as one of the popular havens for cocaine smuggling in his report entitled ‘A Powder Storm: The cocaine markets of east and southern Africa’.
He also listed the port of Durban in South Africa, Pemba and Nacala in Mozambique, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar in Tanzania as well as Mombasa in Kenya as hotspots.
Strong political connections
“Cargo containers on ships to these ports often carry large loads of cocaine of a tonne or more, with established smuggling groups behind it who - for a long time – have dominated both legal and illegal activity along the coastal areas. They usually have strong political connections.
"The cargo that arrives at the above-mentioned ports are often stored or repackaged to be transported further by ship or overland with cargo containers. Smaller quantities of the loads are usually held out as payment or to be sold by local suppliers,” Eligh said.
He referred to 412 kilograms of cocaine bricks discovered by the Namibian Police in 2018.
It was hidden in a cargo container as 'photostat paper' and was apparently shipped from Santos in Brazil to Walvis Bay via Cape Town.
"Walvis Bay is a link in transnational and regional drug supply chains, especially when it comes to the transit route to Botswana," he claimed.
He added that this smuggling route apparently runs from the port via the Trans-Kalahari route through Gaborone and Johannesburg.
"In addition, the Zambezi Region's Four Points border post at the eastern end of the Caprivi strip is also an important transit point to Zambia and Botswana for illegal drugs, especially cocaine.”
He said Botswana's Sir Seretse Khama International Airport in Gaborone and Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport should be investigated as points used for the transnational micro-smuggling of cocaine.
Inaccurate picture
Although Namibia is an important transit point for the drug, the domestic market for cocaine did not form part of the study.
Eligh said cocaine is widely available in the region and the limited confiscation of it does not provide an accurate picture of the volumes of the drug flowing through the area.
Smuggling networks use both air and sea navigation for their operations, with the Mozambique Channel in particular having a major deficit when it comes to law enforcement and the monitoring of their waters.
Eligh said the canal presents a growing threat to the region's security.
"The risk exists that Madagascar could soon become a strong centre and transit point for cocaine as well as other illegal cargo...”
He added that information and monitoring of drug markets is limited, with most of the countries' law enforcement officers not even knowing the basic characteristics of their domestic drug markets.
Complicity, corruption
“Regional markets for cocaine are promoted by dysfunctional governments as well as institutional complicity and corruption,” he said.
“The regional drug trade is strengthened by collusion of state agencies, corruption and state capture. It is further fuelled by an inability to enforce laws, incompetence and in some cases, a never-mind [attitude]," he said.
The report also indicated that America is now less of a preferred market for cocaine, and that smugglers are aiming for markets in Europe, which has led to a boom in smuggling routes along the Atlantic coastline.
"The growing cocaine markets of east and southern Africa are playing an increasingly prominent role in the transnational flow of the drug. At the same time, more and more cocaine is landing in these countries' local markets.”
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