2 held as 196 kg cannabis seized in Bamako truck for Dakar
Mali customs seized 196 kg of cannabis hidden in a Dakar-bound truck intercepted on the Kati road and arrested the driver and his apprentice. The two accounts give different market values for the seizure, so no value is recorded.
Mali customs officers of the Bamako Mobile Intervention Brigade intercepted a
Mali-registered container truck bound for Dakar.[1]The officers had followed
the truck along the Kati road overnight and stopped it at the Kati camp
roundabout before searching it fully.[1]The driver and his apprentice were
both arrested and were to be brought before the prosecutor.[2]
Officers found 196 kilograms of cannabis in the truck, packed as 98 bricks.[1]The cannabis was hidden under the chassis, inside the cabin and in the truck’s
second fuel tank.[1]VOA Afrique reported the market value at about 500
million CFA francs, while Bamada.net reported it at more than 100 million CFA
francs.[2]
The brigade acted on advance information about a drug shipment moving by truck
near Kati.[1]The seized bricks were presented to the press on Tuesday
afternoon.[1]Brigade chief Abdrahamane Diakité said some of the cannabis was
below the truck’s axle and a significant quantity was hidden inside the cabin.[2]The brigade said it had seized 319 kg of cannabis or drugs since January
2017.[1]
Photos and video
Police with the 196 kg of cannabis seized in Bamako on 7 November 2017. Photo: VOA/Kassim TraoréPhoto details
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Source: VOA AfriquePolice with the 196 kg of cannabis seized inside a truck in Bamako on 7 November 2017. Photo: VOA/Kassim TraoréPhoto details
The two sources contradict the seizure value, about 500 million CFA francs against more than 100 million CFA francs, so no value is recorded.
The seizure is dated 7 November 2017, while the detailed account places the interception in the night from Monday to Tuesday with presentation to the press on Tuesday afternoon.
The names of the arrested driver and apprentice were not published and no charge or court outcome was reported.
The cumulative figure since January 2017 is described as Indian hemp by one source and as drugs generally by the other, so it is not counted as an event figure.
On the evening of 17 September 2026 Bamako’s mobile customs brigade stopped a goods truck at Sénou and seized 230 kg of cannabis hidden under plastic waste. The driver and his apprentice fled. Customs valued the load at 312 million CFA francs.
On 6 September 2026 Malian customs at the PK 11 post in Koutiala found 5.60 kg of cannabis and 4,000 tramadol tablets in a passenger's backpack on a bus from Yorosso to Bamako. The passenger, described as a pupil, was arrested.
On 21 August 2026 customs officers at the Kayes wharf intercepted a national of an English-speaking West African country carrying ten bricks of cannabis. The authorities gave no weight or destination for the cannabis, and the companion flour and pasta seizure is excluded from cannabis figures.
On 25 July 2025 Mali’s customs intelligence service intercepted two freight trucks from a neighbouring country and seized 104 balls of cannabis hidden in fitted compartments. No official weight was announced and no arrests were reported in the accounts.
