Cape Verde Airport Drug Busts: Two Arrested for Cocaine
Authorities in Cape Verde have dealt a double blow to regional drug trafficking networks following two separate arrests of Bissau-Guinean nationals attempting to smuggle cocaine through the nation’s international airports.
Cocaine Hidden in Footwear at Sal Airport
In the most recent incident on Friday, the Judiciary Police (PJ) intercepted a 34-year-old woman from Guinea-Bissau at Amílcar Cabral International Airport on Sal Island. The suspect had just disembarked from a flight originating in Dakar, Senegal.
During a search of her belongings, officers discovered approximately 2.5 kilograms of cocaine. The illicit substances were meticulously concealed both within her luggage and inside the soles of her shoes. Following a judicial interrogation on Saturday, a judge ordered the woman to remain in preventive detention pending trial.
Internal Smuggling Attempt at Praia
The Sal Island arrest followed another high-stakes interception just 24 hours earlier. In the early hours of Thursday, police at Nelson Mandela International Airport in the capital city of Praia arrested a 36-year-old Bissau-Guinean man.
The man arrived on a Royal Air Maroc flight from Bissau carrying 805 grams of cocaine internally. Authorities confirmed the drugs were packaged in pellets hidden inside his stomach—a dangerous smuggling method known as “body packing.”
Strict Judicial Response
Both suspects face serious narcotics trafficking charges. Like the woman caught in Sal, the male suspect has been placed in preventive detention as the Judiciary Police continue their investigation into the origin and final destination of the shipments.
These back-to-back arrests highlight Cape Verde’s ongoing struggle as a transit point for drug trafficking between West Africa and international markets, as well as the increased vigilance of local airport security forces.
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