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Sierra Leone has recalled its ambassador from neighbouring Guinea after seven suitcases containing suspected cocaine were found in an embassy vehicle.<\/p>\n
On Monday, Guinean authorities impounded a vehicle belonging to Sierra Leone’s embassy and detained its occupants on suspicion of possessing “substances suspected to be cocaine”, Sierra Leone’s Foreign Minister Alhaji Musa Timothy Kabba said.<\/p>\n
“In light of this serious development, the government has urgently recalled Sierra Leone’s ambassador to Guinea, Ambassador Mr Alimamy Bangura, to Freetown to provide a full account of the incident,” he added.<\/p>\n
The recalled envoy was not in the car and is not under arrest, the minister said.<\/p>\n
“It has not been proven that the ambassador is involved in this trafficking,” Kabba said.<\/p>\n
About $2,000 (\u00a31,600) in cash was found along with the seven suitcases, according to the minister, who did not specify the weight of the suspected drugs.<\/p>\n
He said the two West African countries were cooperating in a “thorough” investigation of the incident, pledging that all responsible parties would be held accountable.<\/p>\n
“Anyone found guilty of breaking Sierra Leonean and international drug trafficking laws will face full force of the law.”<\/p>\n
West Africa is a major transit point for the trafficking of cocaine from Latin America, where it is produced, to Europe, one of the drug’s main markets.<\/p>\n
But some drugs are also being consumed locally.<\/p>\n
Last April, Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio declared drug abuse in the country a national emergency<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kush, a psychoactive blend of addictive substances, has been prevalent in the country for years.<\/p>\n Local communities have called on the government to tackle the scourge and help them deal with drug users.<\/p>\nYou may also be interested in:<\/h2>\n