Cape Verdean politician detains 10 people and seizes cocaine in capital

Cape Verde’s judicial police detained 10 people and seized 335 grams of high-purity cocaine during an operation in Praia, the country’s capital, the corporation said this Wednesday.

The operation took place over the weekend and the detainees, Cape Verdeans aged between 17 and 25, are suspected of being co-authors of a crime involving drug trafficking and illegal possession of weapons, police said. statement.

The SP’s Central Drug Trafficking and Organized Crime Investigation Unit acted on the basis of a search and arrest warrant issued by the Praya District Judicial Court.

In addition to cocaine of “high purity,” the document says, 335 grams of hashish and 360 thousand escudos (3,200 euros) in cash were seized.

Drug packaging and materials were also seized, as well as a handgun and associated charger, two rounds of ammunition of the same caliber, “among other materials of evidentiary value.”

Some of the detainees have a criminal record, one of them is awaiting investigation in a pre-trial detention center, the rest are required to regularly appear before the authorities.

Anti-drug trafficking efforts by the Cape Verde PS led to other cocaine seizures.

In March, packages of the drug were found along the coast of Mayo Island as part of a case in which nine people were being held in pre-trial detention.

Mayo Island is just over 20 kilometers from Santiago, the capital island of Praia.

A month earlier, in February, the Sao Filipe District Prosecutor’s Office on Fogo Island issued a search warrant at the residence of two suspects, aged 27 and 33, where an undisclosed amount of cocaine and cutting tools were seized. , ammunition, precision scales and money.