COCAINE HAUL VANISHES

A police chief in Guinea-bissau said nearly one tonne of cocaine seized by authorities late last year had “disappeared into thin air”.

Domingos Monteiro, the director of the judicial police in the West African country, said officers had seized 980kg of cocaine in November 2021, in a smuggling operation.

“But 975 kilos simply disappeared into thin air,” the police chief said, adding that police and security forces officers are suspected of having appropriated the cocaine.

One police officer has been arrested, Mr Monteiro said.

Guinea-bissau is one of the poorest countries in the world with a long history of military coups. Volatility, poverty and a porous coastline have made the country a hub for cocaine trafficking between Latin America and Europe.

Senior figures in the country’s security forces have been implicated in the trade.