·
·
Saturday, 15 August 2026dailybeirut.com
World
A global report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime warns that drug trafficking routes through Libya and the Sahel are increasingly financing armed groups and criminal networks, with cocaine shipments from West Africa to Europe relying heavily on overland corridors.
A new international report has issued a stark warning about the growing threat posed by transnational drug networks operating across Libya and the Sahel region. According to the assessment, these networks have become a primary source of funding for armed conflicts and a key instrument for consolidating the influence of both militant groups and cross-border criminal organizations. The report underscores the urgent need for strengthened sanctions targeting such networks.
The report—issued by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime—identifies a critical overland trafficking route stretching from Mali and Niger into Libya as one of the principal pathways for moving cocaine from West Africa to European markets. Although maritime transport accounts for the bulk of drug shipments, this land-based corridor remains highly significant. Cocaine trafficking through West Africa has expanded markedly since 2019.
This expansion is driven by multiple interlinked factors: rising cocaine production in Latin America, increased demand in Europe, tighter enforcement along direct maritime and air smuggling routes, and improved transportation infrastructure across West Africa. These developments have prompted traffickers to scale up their use of overland routes traversing the Sahel and Libya.
Trafficking pathways are closely tied to the prevailing political and military control over territory. Periods of relative stability allow large consignments to move unimpeded, while surges in violence or shifts in alliances prompt real-time adjustments to routes and reconfigurations of protection networks—without halting trade altogether.
Despite carrying smaller volumes than maritime routes, overland corridors play a pivotal role in regional conflicts. They provide a continuous revenue stream for armed groups, state-linked individuals, and highly adaptive criminal networks capable of navigating shifting security and political conditions.
The report states that state-affiliated entities continue to control the most profitable segments of the cocaine trade in Mali, Niger, and Libya. Large-scale shipments depend on political protection. Armed groups contribute by securing convoys and safeguarding roads in exchange for financial returns—but they do not serve as the central organizers of the trade.
The report recommends enhancing law enforcement cooperation among countries in Latin America, West Africa, North Africa, and Europe. This includes expanding intelligence sharing and operational coordination to confront cross-border trafficking networks. Such collaboration must be sustained even amid political changes across the Sahel.
It further calls for targeted sanctions against top-tier traffickers and enablers—including asset freezes, travel bans, and measures directed at intermediaries and financiers who form an essential part of the trafficking and money laundering ecosystem—not just those physically handling shipments.
