Author: Joana Duarte

Source: Jornal do Brasil - RJ, 14/07/2009

Illegal trafficking in people, drugs, oil, cigarettes, fake medicines, electronic waste and diamonds is converting West African countries - one of the poorest regions in the world - into a real “gold mine” for international organized crime, he warned. the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in its recent report: International contraband and laws in West Africa: an assessment of threats.

The report concludes that international organized crime is plundering the region, corrupting governments, harming the environment, disrespecting human rights and endangering the health of its inhabitants, in what it considers a serious threat to the region's security and development.

- Criminals have found a way to traffic with less risk until they reach Europe. A year ago, customs in most European countries had no suspicion that there could be cocaine in the goods coming from West Africa - said Bo Mathiasen, UNODC representative in Brazil.

Among the most alarming data, the report reveals that somewhere between 50% and 60% of all medicines consumed in West Africa are counterfeit, and that up to 80% of the cigarettes consumed are derived from contraband.

- The region has everything that delinquency needs: resources, strategic location, weak governments and an incalculable number of police officers who do not see viable alternatives to life outside of crime - warned Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of UNODC.

In some cases, Costa indicates that the amount of money collected from criminal activity exceeds the Gross Domestic Product of the countries in the region.

The $ 438 million obtained by smuggling 45 million fake pills to fight malaria, for example, is higher than Guinea-Bissau's GDP. Not to mention the millions that derive from cocaine trafficking produced in Latin America and passing through West Africa, equivalent to Sierra Leone's GDP.

The report also indicates that about 6 Africans are sent to Europe each year - mostly Nigerian women to be sexually exploited - which earns criminal organizations about $ 300 million a year. The UN estimates that, last year, another 20 people from West Africa smuggled into Europe through organized crime, which would have pocketed more than $ 75 million for providing the service.