On 24 January, the French frigate
Nivôseseized 444 kg of methamphetamines and heroin worth more than €40-million from a dhow in the Mozambique Channel. This is the latest demonstration of how transnational organised crime is spreading in the Western Indian Ocean.
The implications for safety and security along Africa’s long and largely unmonitored coastline are serious. Much of the heroin trafficked between Afghanistan and Europe for example runs across the Indian Ocean along the infamous southern route.
Onshore conflicts pose a significant maritime threat too. The Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, insurgency has increasingly developed a maritime component, with the potential for future maritime terrorism or piracy. The Western Indian Ocean also suffers from illegal fishing and exploitation of other natural resources at sea, threatening the livelihoods of coastal communities.