Drug trafficking in the Sahel region of Africa is thriving due to the activities of non-state Armed Groups, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Cocaine seizures in the region rose from 13kg per year between 2015 and 2020 to 863kg in 2022, while Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger were identified as the locations of the largest seizures. The armed groups finance themselves by levying taxes and duties in exchange for safe passage or protection in territories that they control. In April 2022, more than two tonnes of cocaine were intercepted in West Africa.

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