The court in Rosso, Mauritania, convicted seven people for cannabis trafficking, ordering the expulsion of five foreigners from the country and prison terms in the civilian prison for the other two.[1] The Rosso gendarmerie brigade arrested the accused on Tuesday after an investigation that began with a Senegalese national found holding cannabis he was selling with a Guinean national.[1] MADAR independently reported the same outcome, describing expulsion for five foreigners and incarceration in the penitentiary for two others after convictions for cannabis trafficking.[2]

Investigators said the initial arrest of the Senegalese national allowed them to dismantle a drug-trafficking network operating in the border zone.[1] The investigation found that the suspects acted in an organised way, with roles divided among the network’s members.[1] The court placed a Mauritanian citizen under judicial supervision after his name was mentioned in the investigation following one suspect’s statement, suggesting local ramifications of the network.[1] MADAR added that the Mauritanian was placed under judicial control on the basis of an accused person’s testimony, as part of pursuing the trafficking network and bringing all those concerned to justice.[2]