By: Kadijatu Bangura, Daily Scope Reporter
Sierra Leone’s port security is under fresh scrutiny after Spanish authorities seized a record cocaine shipment aboard a vessel that had recently called at Freetown.
The Comoros-flagged MV Arconian was intercepted near the Canary Islands on May 1 with an estimated 30,215 kilograms of cocaine onboard, valued at about €812 million. Spanish officials said it was one of the largest drug interdictions in Europe this year. All 23 crew members were arrested.
Maritime tracking shows the ship docked in Freetown earlier in its voyage before heading north across the Atlantic.
Sierra Leone’s Transnational Organised Crime Unit said the vessel left the port without illegal cargo and denied that the country was the source of the shipment. TOCU said it is cooperating with international partners as the investigation continues.
The seizure has prompted renewed questions over cargo screening, surveillance, and information sharing at West African ports.
For more information contact Daily Scope Newspaper at dailyscopemedia@gmail.com
