Cocaine Confidential (28 page)

‘Dis cat bought me couple o' drinks and asked me if I knew how ta get in touch wid a certain minister. As it happen, I knew diss politician so I organised meetin' between dem. It was only at dat meetin' Gerardo admit he a big cocaine gangsta and he want to make sure his powder got thru widout no hassle. Ya dig, man?'

Alfonso says that he and Gerardo got on so well, ‘He made me an offer I could not refuse.' Alfonso claims the Colombians offered to set him up as their local ‘main man' and even supply him with free cocaine every month in exchange for him continuing to introduce them to some important people in the government.

‘At first I thought it be better ta just get dem to pay me cash. Then I did my sums and realised that their coke would make me much more money widout any big risks.'

Alfonso knows full well that if he ever started buying more
cocaine from other sources then ‘there might be a few problems with Gerardo and his friends'. He explained: ‘But hey, I more dan happy wid wot I have now.'

Alfonso reveals a fascinating insight into the coke business in Ghana and the rest of West Africa. ‘It's new territory for Latins but dey want ta make it permanent and dey doin' more fa people of West Africa dan de 'mericans or Chinese. Dey knew dat we need schools 'nd shit like dat 'nd dey providin' it, man.'

I also get a unique glimpse inside the complex world of buying, distributing and selling large quantities of cocaine and where the future of the business is heading. ‘De Colombians are killers, man. But if ya don't rip dem off dey fine ta deal wid. In fact, dey seem straighter dan politicians I deal wid here in Ghana!'

Alfonso could be described as the Colombians' ‘Gatekeeper' in Accra. He pays fat fees to the local police, politicians and customs officials to ensure the Colombians' activities remain unrestricted. In exchange for that, he is now considered one of the most powerful people in Accra.

‘Listen, man. Dey need me ta deal wid the Ghanaians. As long as I never rip dem off I will continya ta make big money out deir coke.'

As he talks, Alfonso's ‘team' clinically pack more than a million dollars' worth of cocaine into vacuum packs, which will then be driven down to South Africa hidden in a van. ‘Dey given me the South African market,' announces Alfonso with great pride. ‘Diss stuff is de future of Africa, man. You
know what? No cats here in Ghana can afford cocaine so I take it ta South Africa. Dere dey got a lotta money.'

It all makes sense; the Colombians use people like Alfonso to ‘spread the word' about cocaine so that their marketplaces get bigger and bigger. One old trafficking vet told me that the South Americans have a ten-year plan for each continent. ‘Their ultimate aim is to get the whole world to take cocaine,' he explained. ‘They learned a big lesson when the US started its so-called war on cocaine. They always need to look to new markets. It all makes good business sense.'

Meanwhile Alfonso in Ghana insists he's never even come close to being arrested, despite spending the last five years handling coke virtually every day. ‘Sure I know who ta pay and who owe me favours but ya gotta understand dat de police here don't understand cocaine at all. Dey just see it as white man's drug 'nd dey don't care where it go.'

Latest UN figures claim more than £10 million worth of cocaine is shipped out of West Africa
every week
.

‘And it's gonna get bigger and bigger, man. Cocaine is payin' for so much stuff here. People have regular jobs for de first time in deir lives 'cos of coke. We in a better financial state den we have ever been before. What is so bad wid dat?'

Sharp-suited ‘cats' like Alfonso seem to do little to hide their illicit activities. The South American ‘cocaine colonialists' also need more low-profile characters on their side as well.

In places like Ghana, the cocaine cartels also go out of their way to recruit local ‘civilians' willing to act as fixers for the vast shipments of cocaine which travel through their country. These characters don't handle or go near the ‘product'. They simply smooth its passage through the country they're based in. Often they're middle-ranking politicians or local businessmen with contacts inside the government and police. They are essential to the traffickers because they guarantee every shipment a safe transit but they have no direct connection to the cocaine they are helping to transport.

One such character is Geoffrey. I first met him many years ago in London. He doesn't like to advertise the fact he is actually an African prince by birth, although his family ran out of money long ago. Geoffrey explains: ‘Yes, I do come from African royalty but it hasn't exactly done me much good!'

Geoffrey, in his late thirties, speaks with a perfect English public school accent thanks to an education at one of the UK's most exclusive private schools. ‘I had a great time at school but it didn't prepare me for the real world. After I left university in France, I came back to Ghana because I was expected to work in the family business.'

That's when things started to go wrong for Geoffrey. ‘My father was murdered in a politically motivated attack. We were from a tribe who'd opposed the government of the time, so as soon as my father died the business was effectively closed down by the government.'

Geoffrey claims that other members of his family were targeted by the government. ‘They were told to leave the country but I had nowhere to go, so I took a big risk and stayed to try and start my own business.'

Geoffrey says that he struggled for almost ten years to run an import/export business that involved a wide range of legitimate goods. ‘But it was terrible. I didn't make a penny for the first five years but I had no choice, so I plodded on.'

By the time a change of government in Ghana occurred, Geoffrey was almost destitute. ‘I'd borrowed hundreds of thousands of pounds to keep the business afloat so it was, in a sense, too late. It was ironic, though. Now I had all the contacts in the world to help me inside the government, army, police and all other officials because my father's old friends and associates were back in power. But I couldn't even afford to rent a decent home to live in because the loan repayments were crippling me.'

On a trip to London to see some friends, Geoffrey bumped into an old classmate from public school. ‘All I will say is that he was South American. The rest is pretty obvious!'

Within weeks, Geoffrey had been hired by his old schoolmate who needed a ‘rep' in Ghana to ensure that shipments of cocaine were safely transited through the country. Geoffrey explained: ‘Back then I didn't even realise the South Americans had started using West African countries as a transit point to transport their cocaine into Europe. I was stunned when I learned how prevalent it was but I was even more impressed by the money this chap was offering to pay me to guarantee the shipments would be safely waved through.'

Geoffrey continued: ‘I really had no choice. The money they paid me helped me pay off my loans, even though it also meant I was caught up in a huge criminal enterprise. No wonder they decided to target West Africa. There are many people from all walks of life who have no money. In any case, why shouldn't we get a chunk of this money? They are using us, so we are trying to use them back.'

Today, Geoffrey lives in an affluent suburb of Accra, and is considered a very successful local businessman. ‘I still run my company at a loss and the South Americans help me to keep it afloat because they want me to camouflage my earnings from them. It works perfectly.'

Geoffrey's job involves a lot of ‘meeting and greeting'. He explains. ‘I turn up at all the official and unofficial government functions now. It's my job to know everyone. Sometimes
I give certain officials “gifts” on behalf of the South Americans to make sure things continue to go smoothly for their product.'

Geoffrey believes that hundreds of thousands of West Africans are now reaping the benefits of providing the South American cocaine trade with a safe ‘hub' to ensure transportation into Europe and even back across the Atlantic to the US. ‘The South Americans have helped the economies of a number of countries, including Ghana, in this region. I am sorry to say they have probably had more influence than the governments of America and Europe combined.'

Three times a year, Geoffrey flies to London for a meeting with his South American ‘bosses'. He says they are always very polite ‘unless there have been problems with a shipment'. He explains: ‘These guys are well mannered and charming unless there have been problems. But they don't pull out guns and threaten anyone. Far from it, they let you know they're angry and they expect you to rectify the situation, which I always do.'

Geoffrey says the South American presence in West Africa is unlikely to change. ‘Sometimes I feel as if the West is just stepping back and watching it all happening, quite happy to let them use us as a hub because it makes life easier for the Western powers in a sense.'

Then Geoffrey casually dropped a bombshell. ‘One of my oldest friends is very high up in the UN and he says the UN have been infiltrated by South Americans who want to ensure that they are not forced out of the West African countries.
Money changes hands at the UN to ensure this but even more importantly, the economists are telling the UN that the cocaine trade is helping some of these countries stay afloat.'

Geoffrey believes that the South Americans are in West Africa for the long haul. ‘They've put a lot of money into this area. In some of Ghana's neighbouring countries they're paying for schools and small businesses to help the communities. It is more than the West has ever done, isn't it?'

Meanwhile, Geoffrey continues to look after Colombian interests in Ghana. ‘I can guarantee their cocaine safe transit through Ghana by paying the right people at the right time. Sometimes that means bribing officials at the very top of government. But it is part of my job and, to be frank, it is part of life here in Africa and that isn't going to change for a very long time.'

Interestingly, Geoffrey believes that the key to West Africa's role in the worldwide cocaine trade is that people in these countries cannot afford and do not require their own cocaine. ‘It's a dream come true for the South Americans. The last thing they want is to ship their cocaine through countries where it is a popular drug. Then all sorts of criminals start trying to get involved.

‘Here in Ghana and all the other West African countries, cocaine is considered a white man's product to import and then export. The bribes are nothing more than “tax” in local people's eyes. You see, put like that it all seems like a perfectly legitimate business, doesn't it?'

Geoffrey does admit, however, that some of his contacts occasionally get ‘over-greedy'. He explained: ‘The locals sometimes think the South Americans are like the American and European businessmen, who give bribes to open mines and businesses here. Those straight people are often forced to pay increasingly high bribes.

‘Recently one of the government ministers who controls access to the customs department tried to double the bribe he usually receives from the South Americans. It was a clumsy move on his part. I warned him that these people were not like the Europeans and Americans. He just didn't get it, even though I tried to explain it all to him.

‘When I told the South Americans, they said they would not pay the higher bribe because they knew that then everyone else would start doubling their “charges” and they were right. I went back to this minister one last time and tried to explain subtly that the South Americans were upset and would not pay him the extra money.

‘He was flabbergasted because he was used to the straight Western business people who'd be too afraid to say no. I told him the South Americans were not people to upset. He still didn't get it and said he'd make sure their next shipment did not get through. He even said he'd make sure their attempt to bribe him was made public because he believed it would help his political career.

‘I went back and told the South Americans all this. They remained very calm and suggested I not speak to this minister again. “We will sort this out,” they said.

‘Well, a week later, one of this man's closest relatives disappeared. I deliberately kept out of it. Then a week after this, the minister contacted me and said he was happy to accept their original offer of cash. I said nothing but accepted his offer and he has never suggested being paid any more money ever since.'

Geoffrey added: ‘The South Americans sent out a very obvious message when they dealt with this man. Everyone in Accra knows why his relative disappeared and so, in effect, it was like a public relations exercise by the South Americans. They now know that no one here in Ghana will try and fleece them again.'

But what about the future for Geoffrey? ‘I am happy to work as their contact here. I don't go near the cocaine itself, so I feel that the distance between me and the drugs themselves makes it easier to keep working for them as long as I need to.'

But
, I ask,
surely the South Americans would be unhappy if he tried to quit
. ‘Oh, I've had lots of conversations with them about my retirement but they keep saying to me, “Retirement, Geoffrey? By the time you retire
coca
will be legal and we will all be legitimate businessmen working in a highly lucrative multinational corporation.” I guess they have a point there.'

But, until the drug does become legal, there's a lot of money to be made by traffickers in regions where they can operate outside the reach of the law, and these new ‘cocaine territories' are not just in West Africa …

One former Soviet bloc country taking full advantage of the ever-expanding worldwide cocaine business is Ukraine. In October 2012 police and security services confiscated 30kg of cocaine worth £6 million in the western Ukrainian city of Ternopol, but by all accounts this is nothing more than the tip of the iceberg.