UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Chief of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said Wednesday that his agency is registering new, alarming trends in drug trafficking in West and Central Africa.
The scourge has disruptive and destabilizing effects on governance, security, economic growth and public health in the region, UNODC Executive Director Yuri Fedotov told the Security Council.
Criminal networks are no longer limiting activities to transiting cocaine and heroin through Africa for destination markets in Europe and elsewhere, he noted.
UNODC's 2018 World Drug Report shows that West and Central Africa, along with North African countries, accounted for 87 percent of pharmaceutical opioids seized globally. This is largely due to rising use of tramadol, an opioid painkiller that is widely trafficked for non-medical use in the region, he said.
