CONAKRY (Reuters) - A surge in cocaine trafficking has transformed Guinea into West Africa's latest drug hot spot, jeopardising President Alpha Conde's efforts to rebuild state institutions after a military coup and attract billion of dollars in mining investment.
Locals and Latin Americans long-accused of smuggling are operating freely in the country, some with high-level protection from within Conde's administration, according to Guinean and international law enforcement officials and internal police reports seen by Reuters.