59 cannabis blocks, 590 kg, seized from Grand-Bassam house
An Abidjan port police unit seized 59 cannabis blocks weighing 590 kg in an unfinished house in Grand-Bassam on 27 November 2023, acting on a tip. The national police announced the seizure and opened an investigation into the origin of the drugs and those involved.
An Abidjan port police unit went to Grand-Bassam on 27 November 2023 to check a
tip about cannabis blocks kept in an unfinished house.[1]The officers found
59 cannabis blocks weighing 590 kg, seized them and placed them under seal.[1]The Ivorian national police directorate announced the seizure in an information
note seen by Abidjan.net.[2]Grand-Bassam is a seaside town south of Abidjan.[2]
An investigation was opened to establish where the merchandise came from and who
was involved.[1]
Abidjan.net recalled that police had also seized 320 cannabis blocks at Azuretti
in Grand-Bassam on 9 December 2020.[2]Abidjan.net presented the operations as
part of the fight against drugs in Côte d’Ivoire.[2]
Photos and video
Sacks of wrapped cannabis blocks laid on the ground during a police cannabis seizure. Photo: GPN – Direction Générale de la Police Nationale – Côte d'IvoirePhoto details
The sources name no suspect and give no arrest count, so no one is recorded as detained.
No value for the 590 kg was published.
Yeclo's own text reports the 590 kg weight; the police quotation it reproduces with Vnews.ci is shorter and calls the seizure 'several blocks', so the weight rests on Yeclo's account.
No court outcome or referral to prosecutors is reported.
The 320 blocks seized at Azuretti on 9 December 2020 and the 1 February 2018 gendarmerie seizure near one tonne, both mentioned by the sources, are separate events left out of this report.
The Abidjan.net photo shows 2018 gendarmerie sacks, not this seizure, so it is not listed; only the agency-credited image on Yeclo.com is linked.
Abidjan.net's metadata records a 9 December 2020 date, which predates the November 2023 event it describes; the page text and the other outlets give 27 November 2023 from the police account.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Vnews.ci: The police said publicly that on 27 November 2023 an Abidjan port unit left for Grand-Bassam to verify information about cannabis blocks in an unfinished house, and that the outcome was 59 blocks seized.
Police seized 160.5 kg of cannabis in 160 blocks from a studio in Bimbresso, Songon, on 3 November 2026 and arrested two men. The suspects and drugs were handed to the anti-drug police, who are continuing the investigation.
Ivory Coast's anti-drug units arrested 152 people and destroyed 131 fumoirs, drug-smoking rooms, during Operation Vacances sécurisées 11, the 2026 school-holiday security drive. The prefect of police said the operation seized 774.075 kg of cannabis; he gave the results at Bingerville on 29 October 2026, as he launched its successor, Épervier 12.
The anti-drug unit of the Autonomous Port of Abidjan seized 25.10 kg of cannabis in Grand-Bassam on 22 October 2026 and arrested two people, who were held for investigation. The operation was part of Opération Épervier Spécial.
GRAD officers arrested two people at Mondoukou on 15 October 2026, seizing 53.003 kg of cannabis and 4,808 diverted medicine tablets while destroying seven drug-use dens. The haul was also presented as the unit's cumulative result for 1 to 15 October under Opération Épervier Spécial.
