WEST AFRICA BECOMING COCAINE TRANSIT ROUTE

Drug Transported From South America to Europe

MADRID, Spain - A landmark shift in trafficking routes has
transformed West Africa into a hub for cocaine smuggling from South
America to a booming European market, according to anti-drug
officials on three continents.

Drug traffickers have established a safe haven and transit area along
the Gulf of Guinea to elude aggressive efforts to seize cocaine
headed directly to Europe. Anti-drug officials fear the new route
will worsen lawlessness in African countries already overwhelmed by
crime, poverty and instability.

Colombian gangsters have brought their swagger to the tiny West
African country of Guinea Bissau, setting up elaborate front
companies, tooling around in flashy cars and allegedly buying
high-level protection. The use of drug "mules" has increased
dramatically: A single flight arriving in Amsterdam from Morocco in
December carried 32 West African passengers who had swallowed cocaine
packets or concealed them in their luggage.

"What was seen before as a threat has become a reality," said Lt.
Juan Llorente, an intelligence analyst for Spain's paramilitary Guardia Civil.

Eight European nations April 1 will launch a military-law enforcement
task force targeting cocaine traffic from Africa. The Maritime
Analysis Operations Center based in Portugal will team police, navy
and customs resources, a model similar to a U.S. interdiction unit in Florida.

The United States is the world's top market for cocaine, but use is declining.

Meanwhile, demand has hit all-time highs in Europe, led by Britain,
Spain, Italy and the Netherlands. A kilo of cocaine brings about
$45,000 compared to about $25,000 in the U.S.

Because of historic ties to Latin America, the Iberian Peninsula
remains the gateway to Europe. But aggressive Spanish and British
patrols have intercepted numerous shiploads headed for a smuggling
corridor on Spain's northwest coast, forcing traffickers to turn to Africa.

"Effective law enforcement is a particular challenge in Africa due to
the sheer number of containers that transit through the seaports, the
lack of trained inspectors and investigative intelligence, weak
governments and the widespread practice of corruption," Michael
Braun, the chief of DEA operations, told Congress last year.

Traffickers stockpile cocaine in countries including Cape Verde,
Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Togo, Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and
Mauritania. It is then moved north, often to clandestine landing
zones on the coasts of Spain and Portugal, or commercial ports such
as Barcelona, Rotterdam and Antwerp.

Smugglers use commercial ship containers and fishing vessels, and
occasionally enlist Moroccan smugglers to cross the Mediterranean.
Intelligence indicates that small planes and trucks, the latter
toiling on desert contraband trails, transport loads to North Africa,
DEA officials say.

The partnerships combine South American suppliers, transport
specialists predominantly from Nigeria and Ghana, and European
distributors, officials say. Colombian traffickers, whether
freelancers or cartel operatives, are popping up in remote African locales.

"There are so many Colombians in Guinea-Bissau," said a DEA official
who asked not to be identified. "They are running supposedly legit
businesses, driving Mercedes. And they have informants: They know
when the DEA shows up."

One of the 10 poorest nations in the world, the former Portuguese
colony lacks a secure prison, border controls or police laboratories.
"All the institutions have collapsed," said Koli Kouame, a citizen of
Ivory Coast who is secretary of the U.N.'s International Narcotics
Control Board.

Guinea-Bissau police captured two Colombians unloading 1,500 pounds
of cocaine in September. After a police chief announced the seizure,
he was threatened by fellow officials allegedly allied to Colombian
traffickers. Authorities refused to let a DEA agent see the drugs or
the suspects, whom a judge released, U.S. and European investigators say.

Even in comparatively stable Ghana, top officials were accused last
year of protecting a Venezuelan drug lord. Ghanaian police recorded
the continent's biggest cocaine bust last year, arresting Ghanaian
and Nigerian suspects with a Mercedes van containing almost two tons
concealed in boxes of fish.

Cocaine also leaves for Africa from Brazil and Venezuela, which U.S.
and Colombian officials say has become a sanctuary for smugglers
because of corruption and the suspension of anti-drug cooperation
with the U.S. in 2005.

U.S. Ambassador William Brownfield said recently that the amount of
drugs transiting Venezuela has increased five-fold since 2001 to 250
tons a year, a figure disputed by the government of President Hugo
Cha'vez. Half goes to the United States and half to Europe, officials say.