A few days before the start of the school year, the police are increasing seizures and arrests, in order to fight against this new phenomenon, carried by social networks. In recent days, nearly five tons of drugs have been seized, including a large part of “Gaddafi”, and a factory has been dismantled in the town of Abobo, where RFI followed a police operation.
1 min
With our correspondent in Abidjan, Bineta Diagne
Several dozen police officers enter the Abobo market. The agents are searching everywhere: in basins hidden under the stalls, boxes… The police are looking for small bottles containing a drug, “Gaddafi”, a mixture of tramadol and Vody, an energy drink.
” Almost all categories of young people use this drug. It could be drivers, conductors, residents of our different communities… », Explains Captain Olivier Dosso, senior police commissioner, head of the Abobo police district.
In Ivory Coast, tramadol is not a prohibited drug. The police therefore track down the drugs “ substandard and falsified “. Products that are also very accessible for all budgets, as explained by Captain Kobé Bohi, head of the unit fighting these types of drugs at the Narcotics and Drugs Directorate.
” The price of the tablet varies between 500 and 1 000 CFA francs », he says, specifying that just one is enough to feel its effect. ” It’s a new concept that attracts young people. But the drug “Gaddafi” is really strong, it has harmful effects on the user. »
An effect amplified by social networks. Since July, police say they have arrested around a hundred people.