U.N.: West Africa awash in contraband

UNITED NATIONS, July 8 (UPI) -- The security and economic development of West Africa is being hampered by the trafficking of many kinds of illicit contraband, the United Nations says.

Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, said in a report released Tuesday that crime is rampant in the region, from cigarette smuggling to trade in counterfeit anti-malarial tablets, CNN reported.

"West Africa has everything that criminals need: resources, a strategic location, weak governance and an endless source of foot soldiers who see few viable alternatives to a life of crime," Costa said in the UNODC report. "In some cases, the value of those flows through the region surpasses the combined gross domestic product of the West African states, which are among the world's poorest countries."

Costa focused on the practice of oil "bunkering," or theft, in Nigeria, where he said 55 million barrels of oil per year go missing and contribute to pollution, political corruption and revenue for anti-government insurgents, the U.S. broadcaster reported.

While other types of illegal trade are flourishing in West Africa, drug trafficking appears to be on the decline, Costa said.