Sierra Leone has recalled its ambassador from neighboring Guinea after seven bags containing suspected cocaine were found in an embassy vehicle.
Guinean authorities on Monday impounded a vehicle belonging to the Sierra Leone embassy and arrested its occupants on suspicion of possessing “substances suspected to be cocaine,” Sierra Leone Foreign Minister Alhaji Musa Timothy Kaba said.
“In light of this serious development, the government has urgently summoned Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to Guinea, Ambassador Alimami Bangura, to Freetown to provide a full account of the incident,” he added.
The minister said that the summoned envoy was not in the car and was not under arrest.
“It has not been proven that the ambassador was involved in this smuggling,” Kabba said.
About $2,000 (£1,600) in cash was found with the seven bags, according to the minister, who did not specify the weight of the suspected drugs.
He said that the two West African countries are cooperating in conducting a “comprehensive” investigation into the incident, pledging to hold all responsible parties accountable.
“Anyone found guilty of violating the laws of Sierra Leone and international laws relating to drug trafficking will face the full force of the law.”
West Africa is a major transit point for cocaine smuggling from Latin America, where it is produced, to Europe, one of the main markets for the drug.
But some medicines are also consumed locally.
Last April, Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio Drug abuse in the country was declared a national emergency.
Kush, an addictive cocktail of substances, has been popular in the country for years.
Local communities called on the government to address this scourge and help them deal with drug users.
