Gambia puts 12 on trial for drugs trafficking

Banjul, 10 June-(ANA)-Twelve foreigners arrested in The Gambia last month, and whose capture aided a major drugs bust, have appeared in court.

Their arrests led to the discovery of at least two tons of cocaine with an estimated street value of $1bn (£686m), bound for Europe.

They were apprehended in May and face drugs trafficking charges in relation to 3kg of cocaine.

West Africa has become a major transit point for drugs trafficking.

All the accused, who include Dutch and Venezuelan nationals as well as citizens of West African countries, have pleaded not guilty.

Gambian investigators started making arrests in mid-May, before calling in British agents to gather forensic evidence.

Agents from the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) helped discover the highly concentrated cocaine behind a false wall in a warehouse basement an hour's drive from the Gambian capital, Banjul, on Friday.

The cocaine was found in bricks, amounting to more than two tons, in 85 sacks. (ANA)

FA/ANA/10 June 2010------------