Officers of Burkina Faso’s National Police seized about 350 kilograms of cannabis on Route nationale 4, at the Ouagadougou bypass.[1] The Saaba district police commissariat and the Ouagadougou republican security company made the stop during Operation WIBGA 3, and arrested the main suspect in the traffic.[1] Teams had been deployed at several junctions and in areas the police called crime-prone in the commune of Saaba.[1] During a control they intercepted a tricycle carrying three and a half sacks of cannabis, which the police estimated at 350 kilograms.[1] Police described the load as three and a half sacks of 100 kilograms each, about 350 kilograms, and placed the stop on the Ouagadougou-Fada axis of Route nationale 4.[2]

According to the first elements of the inquiry, the cannabis had come from a foreign country and was brought into Burkina Faso already packed.[1] Truck drivers hid the goods in their vehicles to avoid security checks.[1] Once in Ouagadougou the cannabis was collected and sold wholesale to customers.[1] Customers paid in cash, including through Orange Money and other transfer services.[2] People involved in the circuit took care not to leave traces that would identify them.[1]

The National Police thanked citizens who had helped the operation and asked the public to report suspicious behaviour on the toll-free numbers 17, 16 and 1010.[1]