Drug smuggling across Africa jumps over 600 percent in two years – AFRICOM

The United States Africa Command has raised concerns over a significant increase in illegal drug trafficking across Africa, revealing that the volume of narcotics moving through the continent has grown more than sixfold within the last two years.

AFRICOM Director of Logistics, Brig. Gen. Paul Filcek, disclosed this during a virtual media briefing held on the sidelines of the 2026 Africa Logistics and Communications Symposium in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Filcek said, “the sharp rise in drug trafficking, alongside other transnational crimes such as human trafficking, poses a growing threat to security, safety and economic prosperity across Africa”.

He stressed that tackling those challenges required stronger collaboration among African nations and international partners, supported by effective communication systems and robust logistics networks.

According to him, security agencies must be able to rapidly deploy personnel, equipment and supplies across vast and often difficult terrain to effectively respond to emerging threats.

Filcek also noted that the symposium, jointly organised by AFRICOM and Ethiopia’s Ministry of Defence, attracted delegates from 40 African partner countries and representatives of 27 private companies, marking the highest participation recorded for an AFRICOM functional event.

He added that logistics and communications are increasingly interconnected in modern security operations, with military effectiveness relying heavily on the seamless integration of both capabilities.