Op-eds

Cameroon’s Far North battles drug scourge fuelling Boko Haram violence, urban crime, kidnappings

10 Dec 2024

Due to a lack of control, drug trafficking is increasing and fuelling insecurity in the north of Cameroon.

In July 2024, after June’s International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Cameroon’s public health minister revealed that the Far North Region was in the top three countrywide with the highest rates of drug use. North West and South West were the other two regions.

In 2021, the Far North alone accounted for 43% of new drug users, up from 10% in 2017 and 22% in 2019. The drug trade fuels at least three types of insecurity – Boko Haram violence, urban crime and kidnappings for ransom. In turn, this insecurity drives the drug trade itself.

The Boko Haram security crisis has led to a proliferation of drugs in the region. Insurgents use narcotics to perpetrate violence, causing a rush of drugs into the areas under their influence.

This has worsened an illicit drug economy involving transporters, consumers, distributors and rogue traders. Drug trafficking has become a significant security threat in this area, making it urgent to strengthen control and improve local policing.

Regions of Cameroon

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) recorded about 10 major cases of drug seizures between Garoua and Maroua from 2022 to 2024. At least five tonnes of cannabis valued at about 1,000 million FCFA were seized, and hundreds of kilograms of tramadol confiscated.

In March 2022, authorities seized 20 bags of cannabis worth 100 million FCFA in Maroua. In November 2023, a truck carrying a large quantity of cannabis and tramadol was confiscated in Garoua. In September 2024, more than four tonnes of cannabis were seized between Moutourwa and Maroua. A police officer interviewed by the ISS said these seizures were just the tip of the iceberg.

The suspects explained that the shipment of drugs was intended in particular for potential suicide bombers.

As for transit corridors, cocaine and heroin enter Cameroon mainly via the port and airport of Douala, coming from Latin America and Asia. Some follow the Douala-N’Djamena corridor, transiting through the North and Far North of Cameroon.

According to the ISS’ monitoring, drugs in the form of opioid medicines, such as tramadol, originating from India, enter the North and Far North of Cameroon via several transit corridors from northern Nigeria. Large quantities of tramadol are transported from northern Nigeria to Cameroon’s Amchidé, Fotokol, and then Kousseri.

Tramadol from Mubi also enters via Boukoula, supplying the black market in the North and Far North. The Bénoué River is a major corridor for drug trafficking. Traffickers acquire large quantities of tramadol from Kano. They conceal the drugs in legal products as far as Djimeta, Adamawa State, before transferring them to small boats that take them to Garoua.

Cannabis is also loaded at Djimeta and hidden among bags of dried tea or coffee. Most drugs in circulation are destined for Boko Haram fighters, groups of criminals operating in urban areas, and hostage takers operating in rural areas.

Discussions with ex-Boko Haram associates revealed that insurgents used drugs to commit acts of violence. Suicide bombers are also forced to take drugs before they attack. In 2017, 600,000 tramadol tablets belonging to Boko Haram were seized by Cameroon customs in Taifara.

The suspects explained that the shipment of drugs was intended in particular for potential suicide bombers. The Multinational Joint Task Force also often reports such seizures of drugs destined for Boko Haram.

Urban crime is rampant in the towns of Garoua, Maroua and Kousseri. The crime rate rose from 48% in 2020 to 66.82% in 2021 in Garoua. Police sources point to the proliferation of drugs as a significant cause of the rising insecurity.

According to former hostages and kidnappers, the latter use drugs to inflict violence on their victims. Drugs make them act with greater brutality and without remorse.

These sources indicate that criminal gangs, under the influence of easily accessible drugs, are committing heinous crimes such as targeted assassinations, armed robbery, rape and fatal brawls involving the use of edged weapons. Closure operations carried out by Cameroon’s defence and security forces regularly result in arresting suspects in possession of drugs.

Eventually, drugs fuel kidnappings for ransom in rural areas of the North. According to former hostages and kidnappers, the latter use drugs to inflict violence on their victims. Drugs make them act with greater brutality and without remorse.

With no action taken against the proliferation of drug trafficking, the region will experience profound and lasting security problems, with consequences for people’s mental and physical health.

Actors involved in addressing drug trafficking are making positive efforts, but these are still insufficient, as the control system remains weak. The 1997 law, which punishes drug trafficking with 10 to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to 250 million FCFA, is not strictly enforced as a deterrent.

The 2024-30 national strategic plan to combat drugs does not necessarily incorporate an approach based on repressing and dismantling drug trafficking networks.

It is therefore urgent that the control system be strengthened. The national anti-drugs committee, which coordinates and examines problems related to narcotics use, should add to its agenda the control and dismantling of drug trafficking networks.

To do this, a special joint mobile unit combining personnel from the gendarmerie, police and customs must be set up. Positioned along the Douala-N’Djamena corridor, this unit should have a high degree of mobility and be able to monitor secondary routes, particularly those leading to Nigeria. The components of such a unit must be equipped with suitable drug detection and control equipment.

Their work must involve local vigilance committees that can supply valuable intelligence. In administrative centres, community policing should be encouraged, focusing on the expectations and needs of the local population while fostering a climate of open collaboration between the community and police. DM

Célestin Delanga, research officer, central Africa and Lake Chad Basin, ISS.

First published by ISS Today.

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