Drugs: Cocaine seizures in West Africa have risen from one ton to thirty per year
Annual cocaine seizures in West Africa have risen from approximately one ton in 2018 to nearly thirty tons in recent years, according to a study by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies published on October 21, 2026, and reported by allAfrica. This leap makes the continent one of the major corridors for global trafficking, and increasingly a site for production.
The context is one of an explosion in supply: global cocaine production is estimated at 4,100 tons, about four times the level of ten years ago, for a market valued between 218 and 374 billion dollars. Europe alone absorbs nearly a quarter of global consumption.
Laboratories established on the continent
The clearest change concerns methamphetamine. According to the same study, Latin American cartels have partnered with African criminal groups to set up laboratories in West Africa, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Mozambique, with Mexican "cooks" coming to advise local operators. Of twelve raids conducted on African laboratories with the support of American intelligence, eleven resulted in the arrest of Mexican nationals.
The economic incentive is clear: a kilo produced in Africa for about 1,500 dollars resells for around 150,000 dollars in East Asia, and between 210,000 and 350,000 dollars in Australia and New Zealand. Global methamphetamine seizures reached 487 tons in 2024, compared to 317 tons in 2019.
The trend is confirmed on the continent. Colonel Ze-ev Krein, who commands the South African anti-drug bureau, has been describing industrial-sized laboratories for five years: one of them reportedly produces five tons per month, worth about 500 million rand, while its setup costs some 10 million rand, he explained on October 7, 2026, during a webinar reported by the Africa Defense Forum. Femi Babafemi, spokesperson for the Nigerian NDLEA, told the BBC that police pressure in the Americas is pushing cartels toward West Africa.
The consequences are already being felt. South Africa recorded 78 murders linked to organized crime in the first nine months of 2026, compared to 44 for the entire year of 2025. The NDLEA announced 19,944 arrests in 2025 and the dismantling of about twenty methamphetamine laboratories since 2011. Consumption is increasing in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria.
Finally, the study highlights the political cost: in Guinea-Bissau, trafficking profits have been cited for years as a driver of coups and instability. This is the real danger for African states: an illegal revenue stream that buys off customs officers, ports, and judges. The destination markets, meanwhile, remain in Europe, Asia, and Oceania.
This article was written in French with the help of artificial intelligence from the sources cited below, then translated from French automatically. Read the original.
