17kg Cocaine Seized at Cape Verde Airport; Woman Detained
Cape Verdean judicial authorities have ordered the preventive detention of a 32-year-old woman after she was caught attempting to smuggle more than 17 kilograms of cocaine into the country. The arrest, announced by the Judiciary Police (PJ) on Thursday, highlights ongoing efforts to secure the archipelago’s borders against international drug trafficking.
A Sophisticated Concealment
The suspect, a native of Santiago Island, was intercepted on Friday at Cesária Évora International Airport on the island of São Vicente. She arrived on a flight originating in São Paulo, Brazil, which had made a layover in Lisbon, Portugal.
During a targeted search by the Narcotics Trafficking Investigation Brigade of the Mindelo Criminal Investigation Department, officers discovered 17.134 kilograms of cocaine. The illicit cargo was split into 170 individual packages, meticulously hidden inside a suitcase and sewn into the linings of several jackets.
Strict Legal Action
Following her arrest, the defendant appeared before the São Vicente District Court for her initial interrogation. Given the scale of the seizure, the court imposed the most severe coercive measure available under Cape Verdean law: preventive detention.
The woman has been transferred to the São Vicente Central Prison, where she will remain behind bars while awaiting trial. The investigation continues as authorities look into potential links to wider international drug trafficking networks operating between South America and West Africa.
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