VZCZCXRO1089
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHBP #1404/01 3471542
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 131542Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY BAMAKO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8503
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAMAKO 001404 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR ETRD ECON ML
SUBJECT: SURGE IN MALIAN DRUG BUSTS 
 
 ¶1.  SUMMARY:  A large recent number of significant drug 
seizures despite no appreciable resource increase to the 
woefully underfunded and undermanned Anti-Drug Brigade points 
to a rapid increase in drug-trafficking through Mali.  Many 
of the drug-traffickers detained were Nigerians traveling to 
Europe.  The technical training and high-tech equipment that 
might aid authorities do not exist in Mali, forcing police to 
rely mostly on informants to identify traffickers.  Cocaine 
is believed to originate in South America with a final 
destination of Europe, while marijuana is destined for local 
consumption. End Summary. 
 
¶2.  Malian Customs seized 35kg of cocaine, with a street 
value of over USD 2 million, at the Guinean border the 
morning of November 21, the largest seizure of cocaine ever 
in Mali.  Implicated in the crime were Chini Julien Koffi, a 
Togolese, and Kennedy N'Didi, a Nigerian (passport and bio 
information at paragraph 5).  When at the border crossing to 
fill out the necessary paperwork to allow them to travel to 
Bamako as tourists, Mr. Koffi told officials he was a 
professional driver, but indicated in the paperwork that he 
was actually a car painter.  Officials were also suspicious 
that Mr. Koffi had crossed the border four other times since 
May 2007.  Although Mr. Koffi declared he only had "personal 
items" in the car, a search revealed 35 small packets of 
cocaine in black plastic bags hidden throughout the vehicle. 
According to Mr. Koffi, each packet of cocaine had a resale 
value of around USD 60,000.  Police also found 18 kg of 
marijuana, and a subsequent body search revealed 4,700 Euros 
and 1,123,500 Guinean Francs on Mr. Koffi.  The two suspected 
drug traffickers are now in jail in southern Mali awaiting 
trial.  Inspector Daba Coulibaly at the Anti-Drug Brigade 
noted that the seized cocaine has not yet been transported to 
Bamako for destruction, as there is no precedent for a 
seizure this large outside the capital city and current laws 
are unclear on the required time frame for drug disposals. 
 
¶3.  The November incident is just one of many drug seizures 
in the last several months: 
 
--On October 3, 948 kg of marijuana was seized outside of 
Koutiala, a town in southern Mali near the Burkinabe border. 
One of the suspected drug dealers was arrested while his 
accomplice was able to escape.  A drug commission witnessed 
the destruction of the drugs on November 7. 
 
--Acting on a tip from an informant, the police apprehended 
two Nigerian drug-trafficking suspects with 1.3 metric tons 
of marijuana in a central market area of Bamako on December 
¶4.  The drugs were hidden among 10 sacks of tamarind plant 
leaves. 
 
--At the end of November, 48 kg of marijuana, again hidden in 
sacks of tamarind leaves, was seized on the train from Dakar 
to Bamako. 
 
--On December 6, police seized 1.2 kg of cocaine valued at 
USD 60,000 from Auguste Ejike Charles, a Nigerian traveling 
on the Malian airline CAM-Mali to Cotonou.  Director of the 
Border Police, Djibril Diarra, reported that agents found the 
drugs during a routine control procedure when they noticed 
that Mr. Charles' shoes were abnormally heavy.  Further 
investigation revealed small sacks of cocaine in the soles of 
his shoes.  Charles said that the cocaine came from 
Guinea-Conakry and was destined for Lagos.  Mr. Charles 
admitted that this was his second time to travel through Mali 
with drugs although the first time, he traveled by road from 
Guinea-Conakry.  He added that his supplier is Vitus, a 
Sierra Leonean living in Guinea-Conakry who delivers the 
drugs to "Le Malador" hotel in Conakry. 
 
--On December 7, another Nigerian named Joel Christopher was 
apprehended with an unreported amount of cocaine at the 
Bamako airport.  Christopher's flight was also on the 
CAM-Mali airline going to Amsterdam via Tripoli.  The border 
agents conducted a urine test after they noted the Nigerian 
acting suspiciously.  The test indicated that he had 
swallowed packets of the drug.  Christopher was handed over 
to the Anti-Drug Brigade.  (Note:  Since the end of 2006, 
police have used urine tests with success to detect cocaine 
hidden in traffickers stomachs.) 
 
¶4.  COMMENT:  The upswing in arrests cannot be attributed to 
any changes to the staffing, training, or technology 
available to local law enforcement, as the Anti-Drug Brigade 
remains woefully understaffed and without the necessary 
equipment to detect illegal substances.  The increase in the 
amount of drug trafficked through in Mali is alarming given 
that number of people arrested is likely only a fraction of 
traffickers passing through the country, and Mali's border 
and narcotics control weaknesses may turn Bamako into a hub 
for cocaine shipments to Europe.  END COMMENT 
 
 
BAMAKO 00001404  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶5.  As reported in the local papers, details of the two 
apprehended suspects are as follows: 
Name: Chini Julien Koffi 
Togolese passport number 13359/03CP3D from 12/16/2003 
Birthday:  February 12, 1970 
Place of birth: Kouve, Togo 
Parents: Chini Omedgrovi Gabriel and Azougou Massan 
Profession: car painter 
Domicile: Lome 
 
Kennedy N'Didi did not have an identification card but said 
that he was born April 15, 1967 in M'Gbo in Nigeria, son of 
Godwin and Elisabeth N'Didi Aka.  He is a businessperson by 
profession and has been living in Bamako the last several 
years. 
McCulley