Nearly 250 kg of cannabis seized outside Bamako; 3 arrested
Mali's central anti-drug office seized nearly 250 kg of cannabis stored outside Bamako during the weekend before 27 May 2020, its largest seizure of the year. Three suspected traffickers were arrested as investigators described a Ghana–Burkina Faso–Mali supply route into the capital.
Officers of Mali’s Office central des Stupéfiants, the country’s central
anti-drug office, seized nearly 250 kg of cannabis hidden on the outskirts of
Bamako during the weekend before 27 May 2020.[1][2]Three members of the
suspected trafficking network were arrested in the operation.[1][2]The office
described the haul as its largest seizure since the start of the year.[1][2]
Investigators said they could now trace the cannabis precisely to Ghana,
transiting through Burkina Faso with part delivered en route before networks
supplied the Malian capital by a now-known strategy.[1][2]Director General
Colonel Adama Tounkara said imported drugs are stored outside Bamako in farms or
new houses in areas with more building sites than residents.[3][2]From there,
traffickers move them into Bamako in small quantities by tricycle, motorcycle or
private vehicle, hidden in rice bags and other containers.[1][2]
Investigators said they were counting on subregional anti-drug cooperation to
arrest other suspects in at least four other countries.[1][2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
3
Cannabis
250 kg
Agency type
Police
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis (250 kg)
Activity
Trafficking
Setting
Home
Case stage
Under investigation
Route
Ghana → Mali
Sources
RFIrfi.frFRAu Mali, 250kg de cannabis saisis à l'extérieur de Bamako
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.
