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Two ex-ministers questioned in Bissau drugs probe

05 Jun 2007 18:03:13 GMT
Source: Reuters

GUINEA-BISSAU, June 5 (Reuters) - A government anti-drugs commission in Guinea-Bissau questioned two former ministers on Tuesday as the impoverished West African state probed official involvement in narcotics trafficking.

Former Treasury Minister Jose Dju and ex-Finance Minister Victor Mandinga testified before the inter-ministerial commission, set up last week to counter the increasing presence of Latin American drug cartels in the former Portuguese colony.

"This commission is only to clarify the facts, and we will then pass our findings to the courts and to Interpol," Justice Minister Carmelita Barbosa Rodrigues Pires told Reuters.

"We are not a tribunal. There will be no sentences," she said, adding that the investigation could take around 30 days.

Interior Ministry sources said the commission was initially focusing on the disappearance from the Treasury vaults of 674 kg (1480 lb) of cocaine seized in September 2006.

Interior Minister Baciro Dabo told Reuters last week that the commission had been established because of the complicity of senior state authorities in drug trafficking.

Exploiting Guinea-Bissau's weak central government and porous land and sea frontiers, Latin American cartels are using the cash-strapped state as a staging-post for drug consignments headed to Europe, where cocaine fetches up to three times the price paid in North America.

International anti-narcotics officials have expressed concern at poor West African countries' vulnerability in the face of rich and well-organised Latin American drug rings.

Police in Guinea-Bissau seized 635 kg of cocaine in April but lacked the manpower or vehicles to stop smugglers escaping with nearly 2 tonnes more.

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Last updated:Tue Jun 5 18:04:21 2007