Western Balkan criminal groups, long considered among Europe’s most powerful cocaine traffickers, are cementing their presence in West Africa, according to a new report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC).
The study highlights how the region has become a critical hub in the global cocaine trade, linking Latin American suppliers to European markets.
For several years, rising cocaine demand in Europe and tighter controls on direct routes from Latin America have redirected smuggling operations toward West Africa.
The expansion of ports in Senegal, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Cape Verde has further facilitated this shift.
GI-TOC researchers say Albanian- and Slavic-speaking groups from the Western Balkans now rank among the most influential networks in the trade.
Their alliances with Dutch traffickers and Brazil’s powerful Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) have allowed them to dominate key supply chains.
The report, partly funded by the UK government, calls for stronger cross-border law enforcement cooperation and smarter targeting of brokers who coordinate logistics.
It warns that the sophistication and violence associated with these networks pose a growing threat to regional stability.
“These are not minor players,” said Lucia Bird Ruiz-Benitez de Lugo, director of GI-TOC’s Observatory of Illicit Economies in West Africa.
“As more violent and organized crime groups establish themselves here, the risks to stability and governance in West Africa are rising.”