Thread by @SadeqInstitute, In light of a major seizure of Colombian Cocaine en route to [...]

In light of a major seizure of Colombian Cocaine en route to #Tripoli from Malta, here is a short thread on #Libya’s silent & failing war on drugs since 2011.

Yesterday, Maltese authorities announced a major drug bust confiscating 600kg of Colombian and Ecuadorian cocaine worth more than €70 million to be sent to #Libya. https://in.reuters.com/article/uk-malta-libya-drugs-idUKKBN28K0PK

Malta seizes record cocaine haul bound for Libya

Maltese authorities seized more than 600kg (1,300 lbs) of cocaine being sent to Libya in a record-breaking haul worth some 70 million euros ($85 million), the customs department said on Thursday.

https://in.reuters.com/article/uk-malta-libya-drugs-idUKKBN28K0PK

Drug trafficking and drug use in #Libya have increased significantly in the wake of the 2011 uprising and have both feed off and fuel the country’s conflict and instability” according to @FionaBMangan @USIP.

Read the full report at:
https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/2020-05/20200528-pw_161-illicit_drug_trafficking_and_use_in_libya_highs_and_lows-pw.pdf

#Libya’s society & security forces bear the brunt of this.
80 % of Libyan crime is drug-related, claimed Police in Tripoli in 2013, “with traffickers and dealers fighting nightly turf battles in Tripoli and Benghazi," according to @jamiewrit in @VOANews https://www.voanews.com/world-news/middle-east-dont-use/drug-use-smuggling-increasing-libya

Drug Use, Smuggling Increasing in Libya

Drug use is on the rise in Libya, as a host of post-revolutionary challenges after the fall of Moammar Gadhafi prevent the government from stemming the tide. The evidence of drug use isn’t hard to...

https://www.voanews.com/world-news/middle-east-dont-use/drug-use-smuggling-increasing-libya

In May 2019 @mattckwilliams highlighted the stature of Libya’s war against drugs by showing 2 examples of uncovered drug smuggling attempts. 25 tonnes of cannabis were confiscated by Italian authorities in Feb 2013 & 24 million tablets of Tramadol in Mar 2017 en route to #Libya.

There are reports of seizures before drugs arrive in #Libya, but authorities/NGOs don't know the scale of drugs smuggled into Libya. With Libyan authorities unable to stop the flow of drugs, they will continue to have a quiet but crucial impact on the country’s conflict dynamics.

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