Niger police have seized a record 17 tonnes of cannabis resin worth around $37 million in a shipment originating in Lebanon and bound for Libya, Reuters reported the spokesman for the West African nation's anti-drugs trafficking agency saying today. The traffickers had planned to transport the drugs in trucks to Libya via the desert town of Agadez, a hub for smuggling goods and migrants across the Saharan desert. It is the largest cannabis seizure in Niger's history and the first shipment of drugs known to have come from Lebanon, Toro said by phone. Police have arrested 11 Nigeriens and two Algerians in Niamey and Agadez in connection with the case, he said. Ivory Coast security forces seized just over one tonne of cocaine in the commercial capital Abidjan in February.

Source: Libya Today March 05, 2021 15:11 UTC