Global police body Interpol on Thursday said it has arrested 45 people in West Africa over the past three months in operations targeting drug trafficking and the financing of terrorism.
Interpol, headquartered in France, said those arrested included a suspected Islamic State member at the borders between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, and a North African suspected of aiming to travel through Europe to join ISIS in Syria.
Cocaine worth more than $50 million was also seized in Cabo Verde, as well as 10 tonnes of amphetamines in Burkina Faso, added the police body.
“This operation marks a critical step in disrupting transnational organised crime networks that threaten regional stability and undermine efforts to build peace and foster development across West Africa,” said Mohamed Moussa from Interpol.