The mysteries surrounding a shipment of three tons of cocaine headed for Banjul are starting to come to light as an inquiry into the large haul made ten days ago by the Senegalese national navy yields progress. So far, the Senegalese Office central pour la répression du trafic illicit des stupéfiants (OCRTIS) has revealed a few personal and organizational facts.

Identity of the suspects

After the Senegalese navy seized 2,975 metric tons of cocaine, ten people were detained as part of the investigation. Mamadou Bathia, a Senegalese; Joaquim Lopes Dos Reis Simoes and Alca Gomies, two Bissau-Guineans; Domingos Da Costa, a Portuguese-Cape Verdean; and Rogelio Valiencia Vergara, a Colombian, are among them. The remaining individuals are Nigerians,

specifically Godstime Ugnorugbo, Elijah Udo Esetang, Amacchi Leo Nkwocha, Ezekiel Tumbiri, and Innocent Onyejekwe. These people were all crew members of the drug-laden ship “Ville d’Abidjan,” which was seized on the night of Sunday, November 26 to Monday, November 27, approximately 150 kilometers south of Dakar.

Heavy charges preferred on the crew

All of the suspects detained on the ship were produced to a prosecutor in Dakar on Monday and are still being held in detention pending the outcome of the inquiry. In the meantime, they’ve been charged with criminal conspiracy, possession for the purposes of international drug trafficking via maritime means in an organized criminal organization, money laundering, supporting or assisting in an international trafficking business, forgery and use of forgery, and forgery and use of forgery.

The cocaine route

The boat left Prince Island in Guinea-Bissau on November 11 on board the vessel “Ville

d’Abidjan,” a Sao Tome and Principe-flagged ship. Six days later, they transhipped the cocaine from an El Salvador-bound yacht on the high seas. Following the cocaine transshipment, the “Ville d’Abidjan” sailed for Dakar. The navy apprehended the illegal package with its ten crew members about 150 kilometers from Senegal’s capital.

The son of…

Three tons of cocaine onboard the yacht “Ville d’Abidjan” were to be delivered to Gambia, according to the Senegalese anti-narcotics investigation. The accused recruiter of certain members of the ship’s crew, Jack Holland, was to reclaim 10% of the stuff. The inquiry names a Dutchman and the son of a West African country’s head of state as the owners of the drug. Their true identities are yet to be revealed.

Satellite phones

Investigators thoroughly searched the vessel’s compartments after intercepting it. As a consequence, 18 cell phones, 2 satellites, 1 GPS, and 2 laptops were discovered, as well as CFA francs (160,500), naira (100), euros (450), and 450 dobra (the currency of Sao Tome and Principe).