The Cape Verdean judiciary has ordered the preventive detention of nine people on the island of Mayo suspected of particularly dangerous drug trafficking and other crimes, the state ministry said in a statement published on Saturday.
Mayo Island is just over 20 kilometers from Santiago, the capital island of Praia.
The arrests were part of a police operation that included searches at the homes of 22 people.
Nine detainees are also suspected of committing gang crimes related to human trafficking, aggravated robbery, aggravated weapons possession and money laundering.
Authorities also took coercive measures against 10 other people, who were banned from leaving Mayo Island.
Judicial police and national police units took part in the operation.
“The above-mentioned processes, which continue to be investigated by the Main Criminal Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office, remain under judicial secrecy,” the prosecutor’s office concluded.