U.S. anti-drug efforts in West Africa may expand to protect wildlife

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States hopes to expand a two-year-old effort against organised crime in West Africa to include wildlife trafficking and money laundering - activities that it says exploits some of the same networks long used for drug trafficking.

William Brownfield, the Assistant U.S. Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, said on Tuesday that his office is ready to take "the next step" in its anti-drug efforts when U.S. officials convene a high-level meeting later this week with 15 west African countries. "The same organisations that move drugs and people and firearms and doing basic smuggling are moving rhino horn and elephant tusk and other products that come from illicit wildlife trafficking," Brownfield said, speaking on the sidelines of a major African summit taking place in Washington.