Customs officers of the Koungheul mobile brigade, in Kaffrine subdivision, seized 482 kg of chanvre indien on 17 January 2021.[1] Officers found the cannabis in a Malian truck during a routine check at the Koungheul customs checkpoint.[2] The cannabis was packed in 241 sacks and hidden in a purpose-built compartment.[2] Customs valued the Koungheul haul at 38,560,000 CFA francs.[2]

The truck driver was arrested and referred to the prosecutor.[2] Over the same weekend, maritime customs units sweeping the coast and the Saloum islands seized another 152 kg of chanvre indien at Keur Balla.[2] The two finds together made the weekend’s cannabis seizures 634 kg.[2]

The figures come from a statement by the Directorate General of Customs’ public relations and communication office.[2] The customs service also reported 8 parcels of medicines found in a pirogue at Joal, valued at 21,578,400 CFA francs, and 17 parcels of fake medicines at Toubacouta, valued at 13,138,000 CFA francs, with two people arrested in each case.[2] The Saloum sweeps took place over the weekend of 16 to 17 January 2021.[3] Several Senegalese outlets carried the same customs statement in the days after the seizure.[4] The Senego account, credited to Libration, carries the identical statement and notes the driver was arrested and sent to the prosecutor.[5]