The Arlit branch of Niger’s Central Office for the Repression of Illicit Drug Trafficking (OCRTIS), operating in northern Niger, carried out two major drug seizures and arrested six individuals on November 17, 2025.
Alarmingly, the arrests included three members of the country’s Defense and Security Forces. The first operation targeted a residence in the Boukoki 1 neighborhood of Arlit and resulted in the arrest of four individuals, including the three security personnel, for high-risk drug trafficking.
During this raid, OCRTIS officers seized: Four balls of Amnesia-type cannabis weighing 3.65 kg. A handgun whose make and serial number had been filed off. Three 9mm blank cartridges. An empty automatic pistol magazine and an empty Kalashnikov magazine.
This seizure underscores the dangerous nature of the traffickers and raises serious concerns about the possible involvement of security personnel in organized crime networks.
The second seizure, executed the same day in the same neighborhood, involved a freight truck arriving from Maradi in southern Niger. Officers discovered fourteen bricks of cannabis, totaling 12.308 kg, meticulously hidden in a compartment built beneath the vehicle.
Two individuals were arrested during this operation, and the truck used to transport the drugs was immediately impounded.
The successful operations are part of the ongoing fight against drug trafficking in the Arlit department, a region in northern Niger that serves as a strategic area for transnational trafficking networks.
The OCRTIS Arlit Central Office has called on the local population to “redouble their vigilance and cooperate to ensure greater security for all.”
AC/Sf/fss/abj/APA