Drug Barons Discover Africa

Drug barons discover Africa

The price of cocaine is falling as traffickers use unstable nations such as Guinea as conduits. Perhaps the EU should stop them


* Caroline Sourt
* guardian.co.uk, Sunday 1 March 2009 16.00 GMT


According to the Home Office, class A drugs, which include cocaine, cost the country more than £15bn in crime and health bills every year. In Britain, a line of cocaine is now cheaper than a pint, and while there have been reports that drug use has levelled off in the last year, these statistics are soon likely to change for the worse.

What few people realise is that this is due, in part, to the new trading routes being used by traffickers. The UN's latest report on drug trafficking indicates that South American drug cartels are using west African states to stockpile shipments due for the European market. The Caribbean is still being used to smuggle cocaine out of South America, but British and American patrols have been increasingly successful in recent years and the drug barons need a new line in – no pun intended.

West African countries, particularly those that are politically unstable, are ripe for trade. One such country is Guinea. A junta now rules this small nation of 10 million people. Last December, a group of young officers calling themselves the National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD) seized power after the death of President Lansana Conté, the country's autocratic dictator of 24 years. They promise to hold elections before the end of 2009, but if voting is to be free and fair, the logistics would make this almost impossible. Following the arrest of several officers and the dismissal of the CNDD's finance minister earlier this month, there are increasing concerns that Guinea's junta is unstable. There are high levels of insecurity, a general lawlessness outside the ruling elite and unlimited scope for corruption.

Add to that the fact that most Guineans live in poverty with no running water or electricity – the UN scores the country as the 12th poorest in the world – and it is easy to see why the Colombians are moving in.

Regular revisions in waging a war against drugs are essential to stay one step ahead of the drug barons. Barack Obama has appointed a new drug tsar to head up the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The emphasis will be on the increased use of rehabilitation centres and community service, instead of prisons, for drug offenders.

But ultimately the most efficient way of dealing with the drug problem must be by cutting off supply routes, thereby preventing the shipments from reaching the UK in the first place.

Guinea is a former French colony, and is therefore not a priority when it comes to Britain's foreign policy and sphere of influence. However the European Union Strategy for Africa already includes the goals necessary to give Guineans a viable alternative to involvement in the drug trade.

During more healthy economic times, the EU committed to increase official aid to Africa. It promised to give 0.56% of gross national income by 2010, and more specifically to spend €4bn annually in projects in sub-Saharan Africa. But according to reports in 2007, these promises are not being kept.

The EU may have a reputation for bureaucracy and for blowing its own budgets. But surely Britain and other member states would make a saving – in more ways than one – if Strasbourg turned its attention to the effect the west African drug trade is having on the price of cocaine in Europe.