Burkina Faso’s national gendarmerie dismantled a local cannabis production and sales network operating in several villages of Guiaro department, in Nahouri province in the Centre-Sud region.[1] The Guiaro territorial brigade acted after residents reported smokers and cannabis crops in remote areas.[1]

Investigators arrested a grower identified only as O. in Boli village at 21h26 on 8 October 2025 for production, sale and consumption of cannabis.[1] A second man identified only as I. was arrested on 11 October for sale and consumption.[1] A third man identified only as Z., who lived in Koumbili, was arrested on 12 October for importation, cultivation, sale and consumption of cannabis.[1] Three people were arrested between 8 and 12 October 2025 in the villages of Boli and Koumbili.[2]

All three men admitted the facts, saying they grew and resold the cannabis for local consumption.[3] On the instructions of the Faso prosecutor at the Pô High Court, gendarmes destroyed the identified fields.[3] The gendarmerie said cannabis use was taking insidious root in Guiaro commune in the south of the country.[1]

Investigations are continuing to identify possible accomplices and assess the scale of the phenomenon.[3] The first investigation in Boli village followed information judged credible.[1] The gendarmerie said the offences are punished under article 382-1 of Burkina Faso’s criminal code and invited citizens to report suspicious behaviour on its hotlines.[3]