Authorities in Guinea-Bissau seized 2.63 tons of cocaine in a plane coming from Venezuela, marking the largest drug seizure in the country’s history.
Guinea-Bissau is a known transit point for global drug trafficking, leading the UN to label it a “narco-state.”
The plane was reportedly registered in Mexico, and all five crew members, including the pilot, were detained, Reuters reported.
The crew consisted of two Mexicans, one Colombian, one Ecuadorian, and one Brazilian.
The operation was conducted in close cooperation with the US Drug Enforcement Administration and the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre–Narcotics, a European organization.
Since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974, the country has experienced nine coups, resulting in weak state institutions, which some believe has made it a fertile ground for drug barons.
Earlier in 2024, the son of Guinea-Bissau’s ex-president was sentenced to over six years in a US prison for leading an international heroin trafficking ring.