Sahel

In the Sahel, political upheaval has pushed drug trafficking networks to abandon established hubs, open up new corridors and diversify into air and maritime routes. Although violence can temporarily disrupt flows, the trade continues, constantly reshaping itself around instability.

A crossroads between Africa and Europe

The Sahel serves as the connective tissue of a vast transcontinental drug economy. Cocaine flows enter West Africa via the Gulf of Guinea and move onward to Libya, a key gateway to North African and European markets. Shipments arriving in coastal states such as Togo or Benin are pushed north through Mali or Niger. These flows converge across the Sahel’s desert corridors before funnelling into Libya, where established smuggling networks move them toward Mediterranean departure points.

Political instability disrupts trafficking routes

Recent political upheaval in Niger and Mali has sharply reshaped the security and trafficking landscape in the Sahel. The July 2023 coup in Niger, which toppled President Mohamed Bazoum, dismantled long-standing networks linking political elites to trafficking operations. This created a climate of uncertainty in which high-level traffickers lost protection and scaled down their activities. Meanwhile, the withdrawal of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) in 2023 triggered a rapid escalation in conflict between armed groups and the Malian army. Together, these shifts have destabilized traditional trafficking corridors, intensified violence and forced networks to adapt or seek out new routes, disrupting the long-standing balance that had allowed drugs to flow relatively predictably through the region.

Drug routes adapt to conflict dynamics

Shifting conflict dynamics in northern Mali are reshaping drug trafficking routes across the desert. Convoys that once relied on established corridors are increasingly being diverted onto more remote tracks to avoid contested urban areas. These adjustments come with higher operational risks. In open terrain with little cover, vehicles are easier to detect, and recent air and drone strikes – reported in locations such as Lerneb and Anefis – have highlighted the growing vulnerability of these movements. As a result, each journey now carries a higher risk of interception.

As fighting intensified around Kidal and access to Anefis and Tabankort was lost, the number of drug convoys passing through the region dropped significantly. This has had a direct impact on intermediaries such as drivers, guides and fixers, whose livelihoods depend on these flows. Many have been left without work as networks relocate or pause their activities.

Increased use of air and maritime routes

In addition to reconfiguring land corridors, traffickers are increasingly turning to air and maritime routes to move high-value consignments out of the Sahel. Cocaine is now flown from Bamako and Niamey to Europe using couriers on commercial flights, as well as private aircraft that bypass routine scrutiny. At the same time, maritime flows have expanded along the Atlantic, with cocaine departing from Morocco, transiting through West African coastal hubs and heading to Europe – or in some cases looping west back towards South America. These alternative routes offer a degree of resilience to the conflict, allowing trafficking networks to diversify their logistics while maintaining access to major consumer markets.