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Sierra Leone

Record cocaine haul sets Bio’s government on collision course with the EU

A row over Freetown’s ties to Dutch trafficker Leijdekkers is spilling into a clash over aid and security

When Spain’s Guardia Civil intercepted a cargo vessel, off the Western Sahara coast carrying over 30 tonnes of cocaine on 1 May – the biggest such interdiction in history – it escalated the rumbling confrontation between the European Union and President Julius Maada Bio’s government in Sierra Leone. If not resolved, the clash could mean Freetown will forfeit tens of millions of euros of development funding and face other regulatory penalties.

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