Former Senegalese soldier held with 2 kg of cannabis near Rosso
Mauritanian gendarmes arrested a former Senegalese soldier in his thirties from Kaolack with 2 kg of chanvre indien, cannabis, 18 km from Rosso on the weekend of 1–2 February 2020. Senegal's RFM reported he had left the army in 2014–2015 and was travelling toward Nouadhibou, while a Mauritanian account said he was heading for Nouakchott.
Mauritanian gendarmesarrested a former Senegalese soldier with 2 kg of chanvre
indien, cannabis, in the south of the country on the weekend of 1–2 February
2020.[1]The man, a former soldier in his thirties from the Kaolack region of
Senegal, was detained 18 km from Rosso, the town on Mauritania’s border with
Senegal.[1]According to the Senegalese station RFM, he had left the army
between 2014 and 2015.[2][3]RFM reported that he was on his way to Nouadhibou,
Mauritania’s second-largest city and a fishing port on the Atlantic coast.[2][3]
Leral.net and its Senegalese counterparts attributed the arrest to the
sniffer-dog brigade of Rosso, the Mauritanian police unit that works with dogs.[2][3]The accounts differ on where the man was heading: Cridem’s Mauritanian
source, Al-akhbar, said he was trying to reach the capital, Nouakchott.[1]Dakarposte, which also credits RFM, put his detention in Nouadhibou’s direction
and said he left the army between 2015 and 2014.[4]No charge, court
appearance or sentence was reported in any of these accounts.[5]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
1
Cannabis
2 kg
Agency type
Gendarmerie, Military, Police
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis (2 kg)
Setting
Land border, Street or public place
Case stage
Under investigation
Sources
Cridemcridem.orgFRMauritanie : arrestation d’un ancien militaire sénégalais en possession de chanvre indien
Leral.netleral.netFRChanvre indien: Un ancien militaire sénégalais arrêté avec 2 kg en Mauritanie
Senewebseneweb.comFRMauritanie: Un ancien militaire sénégalais arrêté avec 2 Kg de chanvre indien
Dakarpostedakarposte.comFR« Un ancien militaire Sénégalais arrêté en Mauritanie avec 2 Kg de Chanvre indien »
Senewebseneweb.comFRMauritanie: Un ancien militaire sénégalais arrêté avec 2 Kg de chanvre indien
Open questions the AI reported
The accounts give no exact date for the arrest; Cridem says it happened on the Saturday, and 1 February 2020 is used on that basis.
The traveller's stated destination differs: RFM-sourced Senegalese accounts say Nouadhibou, while Cridem's Mauritanian source Al-akhbar says Nouakchott.
The arresting unit is named only in the Senegalese accounts, as the brigade cynophile of Rosso; Cridem says only the Mauritanian gendarmerie made the arrest.
No charge, court appearance, outcome or name of the man was reported.
No weight beyond 2 kg, no value and no packaging details were published, so no valuation is recorded.
All four accounts trace back to two newsrooms, RFM in Senegal and Al-akhbar in Mauritania, rather than to an official statement.
The Leral.net picture has no caption or credit and is not established to show this arrest, so it is listed as a link only.
Gendarmes at the PK55 border post in Dakhlet Nouadhibou found about 26 kg of cannabis resin hidden in a vehicle heading into Mauritania on 29 September 2026 and arrested two foreign nationals. The gendarmerie sealed the drug and began judicial proceedings against the two.
Police and gendarmerie units announced a run of raids in July and August 2026, breaking up at least ten networks and arresting dozens of people. The largest seizures were 202 kg of cannabis resin hidden in food shipments, 230 kg in a truck trailer at Bassiknou and 210 kg at Nouadhibou, alongside smaller amounts and thousands of psychotropic tablets.
The court in Rosso, Mauritania, convicted seven people for cannabis trafficking, expelling five foreigners and sending two others to prison. The case began with a Senegalese seller arrested with cannabis and unravelled into an organised cross-border network with a Guinean accomplice and a Mauritanian under judicial control.
Police intercepted 30 slabs of cannabis weighing 27 kg at the El-Messellem control post in Guidimakha wilaya on 19 November 2025, arresting a driver caught transporting the load from a neighbouring country. The Ghabou commissariat opened an inquiry.
