Senegal's ELOL operation seizes six tonnes of cannabis and arrests 14
From 1 to 7 May 2026 the Senegalese army's Operation ELOL in Bignona department near the Gambian border arrested 14 people and seized more than six tonnes of chanvre indien products, including processed cannabis, seeds and raw material, which were destroyed along with equipment.
From 1 to 7 May 2026 the Senegalese army ran Operation ELOL in Bignona department, near the
Gambian border in Casamance.[1]Colonel Cheikh Guèye’s forces searched a quadrilateral between
Masaran-Dièye, Djoundji, Balla Bassène, Djibidione, Balla Ougonor and Niallé, an area the
general staff treats as a clandestine cultivation stronghold.[1]
The official tally reported more than three tonnes of processed chanvre indien, more than two
tonnes of seed stock, and more than one tonne of unprocessed cannabis, together described as more
than six tonnes of illicit product destroyed after seizure.[1]Fourteen people were arrested and
handed to the judiciary; weapons, farm inputs and logistics equipment were also recovered.[1]
Reporting on the same sweep, AFP quoted Colonel Gueye in Ziguinchor as saying an operation earlier
in May near the Gambian border had led to 14 arrests and the seizure of six tonnes of cannabis
alongside “weapons of war”.[2]The Times of India carried the AFP dispatch on Casamance
cannabis funding rebel networks; it did not add separate figures beyond the colonel’s summary.[2]
Gendarmerie leaders called the Casamance haul a record; airborne and drone units, gendarmerie from
Ziguinchor and a GIGN team from Dakar took part.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
14
Cannabis
6 t
Agency type
Gendarmerie
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis (6 t)
Activity
Cultivation
Setting
Land border, Street or public place
Case stage
Under investigation
Sources
Afrik.comafrik.comFRArchived copyCasamance : 14 arrestations et plus de six tonnes de chanvre indien saisies par l'armée sénégalaise
The official breakdown reported more than three tonnes of processed cannabis, more than two tonnes of seeds and more than one tonne of unprocessed material, without a single combined weight beyond "more than six tonnes".
Sources also reported weapons and agricultural inputs seized; those items are outside the cannabis total.
AFP quoted Colonel Cheikh Gueye on a similar operation "earlier this month" without using the ELOL name; dates align but the communiqués were not quoted verbatim in English.
Police from the Thiaroye arrondissement station arrested a suspected drug dealer in Wakhinane, Dakar, seizing 67.85 kg of cannabis from his car. Officers staked out the alley following an intelligence tip-off, chased down the fleeing driver, and impounded the vehicle along with tools and an unstated sum of cash.
On 7 November 2026, Faidherbe gendarmes arrested 34-year-old Guinean watchman A. Camara near Dakar's Autonomous Port with 500 g of cannabis plus 13 retail sachets. He admitted trafficking and was held in custody while police hunt his alleged supplier.
Parcelles Assainies police arrested nine people in a three-day anti-drug operation at cité Mixta and Gueule Tapée market in Dakar from 30 October to 1 November 2026. Officers seized 69 cannabis cones and 5 grams of hashish plus 12 tramadol and Alpraz tablets, then referred all nine suspects to the prosecutor on 3 November.
Senegal's Ocrtis arrested two suspected intermediaries in Dakar after 32 balls of hashish were found hidden in shoe soles in a Casablanca-Dakar parcel. A controlled delivery with substituted goods led to the arrests on 1 November, while the final recipient was still sought.
