Bissau drug smuggling worsening daily-police chief
20 Jul 2007 17:21:53 GMT Source: Reuters
By Alberto Dabo BISSAU, July 20 (Reuters) - Drug trafficking by Latin American cartels through the West African state of Guinea-Bissau is worsening day by day and authorities lack the means to tackle it, the new judicial police chief said on Friday. At her swearing-in ceremony, Lucinda Aucarie appealed to the armed forces to aid police in combating cartels which funnel hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cocaine to Europe, to prevent the tiny ex-Portuguese colony becoming a "narco-state". "The situation is worsening day by day, that's why I seize this opportunity to launch an urgent appeal to the international community to come to Guinea-Bissau's aid," said Aucarie, a former public prosecutor. "I am well aware that the resources to tackle illegal drug trafficking are lacking, but the judicial police will do its best with meagre means at its disposal," she said. With Latin American rings smuggling cocaine shipments via Guinea-Bissau's mangrove creeks and landing strips in its deserted interior, international counter-narcotics officials have expressed fears the state's security forces could be overrun by the gangs. U.N. officials and members of the Guinea-Bissau administration have appealed to foreign donors to help keep the cash-strapped government afloat after years of political instability and economic collapse. The previous head of Guinea-Bissau's Judicial Police, Orlando Antonio Da Silva, was abruptly dismissed in June without explanation after winning praise for battling cartels. Since then the post has remained empty as another official asked to replace him refused the job. Da Silva's dismissal, which was challenged by Washington, came in the midst of allegations of top officials' collusion in drug trafficking after a record 674 kg (1,486 lb) haul of cocaine disappeared from state vaults. A government investigation into official involvement in trafficking launched in June has not published its findings. "It is essential to have the support of the authorities and the appropriate resources," Aucarie said. She said Guinea-Bissau also had a growing problem of local drug use. Impoverished Guinea-Bissau, whose economy relies on cashew nut exports and fishing, has been devastated by coups and uprisings since independence from Portugal in 1974.
