Courier arrested in Cotonou with 5.4 kg of suspected cannabis
Police arrested a man as he arrived to collect a parcel containing 5.4 kg of suspected cannabis at a Cotonou transport company on 29 September 2026. He said the parcel came from Togo by way of Bassila, and was held while police continued their investigation.
Police from Cotonou’s 11th arrondissement arrested a man in his 50s at about
8 p.m. on 29 September 2026, as he came to collect a parcel at a transport
company’s office. Officers had received information about a suspicious
delivery and waited for the intended recipient.[1][2]
The man arrived to collect a sack containing ten yellow-tape-wrapped bundles.
When police opened the package, it held 5.4 kg of dried plant material that
officers described as suspected cannabis. The reports give no laboratory
identification.[1][2]
During questioning, the man said the package had come from Balanka in Togo,
passed through Bassila in Benin and was left with an intermediary for onward
transport to Cotonou.[1][2]
He was placed in police custody, and the seized material was handed to
specialist Republican Police services while the investigation continued.[1][2]
Photos and video
A suspect, the seized packages and a scale in La Nation's photograph of the Cotonou seizure.Photo details
Police in Houègbo arrondissement detained five people, one of them a woman, in raids on 3 and 6 November 2026 that broke up a suspected counterfeit-money network at Agbotagon. Officers seized 28 sachets of cannabis in the first raid and about 1.5 kg in a shop in the second, alongside counterfeit notes, printing plates and smuggled medicines.
On 22 September 2026, border police on the Niger River at Malanville arrested a boatman after finding two packages of Indian hemp in his luggage. He jumped into the river to escape, was pulled out with help from residents, and was placed in custody while prosecutors opened a trafficking investigation.
Police in Kétou arrested a burglary suspect in a ghetto in the Obafemi quarter and seized 21.5 kg of cannabis. Officers also seized three motorcycles of doubtful origin and said inquiries into the wider network were continuing.
Police in Porto-Novo arrested a couple at their home in Houssouko on 17 August 2026 and seized suspected cannabis and Tramadol tablets. The husband, a motorcycle-taxi driver, allegedly distributed the drugs while his partner stored and packaged them, and both were held for presentation to the prosecutor.