Wire report
How Europe’s most wanted cocaine trafficker turned Sierra Leone into the world’s first true narco state
Drawing on dozens of interviews with intelligence and police officers across two continents, a Guardian investigation reveals the murderous cost of our insatiable appetite for cocaine Read more: Latin American organised crime ‘may operate in 16 European countries’ Explainer: What is state capture and why does it matter? As abductions go, few have been more brazen. Alan Jalloh was with two friends outside Goodies supermarket, frantic as usual with late afternoon shoppers. Rush hour in downtown Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital, was under way with familiar gusto. A black Toyota Rav4 forced its way through the Peninsula highway traffic. Witnesses describe burly white men leaping out, yanking on balaclavas. Jalloh, 40, seemed to freeze. As did his two friends, one a famous Freetown footballer. All three were dragged into the waiting SUV. None of them have been seen since. Continue reading...
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Drawing on dozens of interviews with intelligence and police officers across two continents, a Guardian investigation reveals the murderous cost of our insatiable appetite for cocaine Read more: Latin American organised crime ‘may operate in 16 European countries’ Explainer: What is state capture and why does it matter? As abductions go, few have been more brazen. Alan Jalloh was with two friends outside Goodies supermarket, frantic as usual with late afternoon shoppers. Rush hour in downtown Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital, was under way with familiar gusto. A black Toyota Rav4 forced its way through the Peninsula highway traffic. Witnesses describe burly white men leaping out, yanking on balaclavas. Jalloh, 40, seemed to freeze. As did his two friends, one a famous Freetown footballer. All three were dragged into the waiting SUV. None of them have been seen since. Continue reading...
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According to The Guardian’s source item, How Europe’s most wanted cocaine trafficker turned Sierra Leone into the world’s first true narco state, Drawing on dozens of interviews with intelligence and police officers across two continents, a Guardian investigation reveals the murderous cost of our insatiable appetite for cocaine Read more: Latin American organised crime ‘may operate in 16 European countries’ Explainer: What is state capture and why does it matter? As abductions go, few have been more brazen. Alan Jalloh was with two friends outside Goodies supermarket, frantic as usual with late afternoon shoppers. Rush hour in downtown Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital, was under way with familiar gusto. A black Toyota Rav4 forced its way through the Peninsula highway traffic. Witnesses describe burly white men leaping out, yanking on balaclavas. Jalloh, 40, seemed to freeze. As did his two friends, one a famous Freetown footballer. All three were dragged into the waiting SUV. None of them have been seen since. Continue reading…
Context
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Primary source: How Europe’s most wanted cocaine trafficker turned Sierra Leone into the world’s first true narco state via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
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- How Europe’s most wanted cocaine trafficker turned Sierra Leone into the world’s first true narco stateThe Guardian - 2026-10-14T06:00:46+00:00
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