Sema Fonkem 25 Feb 2026

Custom authorities in Cameroon have seized illicit drugs worth approximately $90 million during a recent drug bust at Douala International Airport on Friday, February 21, 2026.

According to official reports by custom authorities, 2,491 kilograms of narcotics were seized including 1,057kg of cocaine from Germany and 1,434kg of tramadol shipped from India and South Sudan.

The Minister of Finance Louis-Paul Motazé and Minister of Public Health Dr. Manaouda Malachie were at the airport to carry out an inspection.

“I came here today and I have the minister of health with me because you know what the custom department has done. They found some illegal drugs that was entering into our country and we came here to see what has been done, they found more than 1 ton of cocaine, more than 1 ton of tramadol and financially speaking, we think that the value of these illegal drugs is more than 50 billion Francs CFA. The problem is we all know the consequences of the consumption of these drugs when we think of our youth, so we think that something should be done.” said Louis-Paul Motazé while addressing the press.

Cameroon’s government continues to take drastic measures to secure its ports and intercept attempts made by criminals to smuggle illegal drugs into the country. In July 2025, authorities seized another consignment of cocaine with a street value of about $16 million.

Since 2016, tigthened security at both Douala and Yaoundé-Nsimalen international airports has resulted in the increase of seizures and arrests as government continues the fight to dismantle drug syndicates in the country.

Law enforcement has launched an investigation and a hunt for the owners of the destroyed consignment.

The destruction of the illicit drugs that took place yesterday at the outskirts of Douala was witnessed by the regional governor of Littoral province Samuel Dieudonné Ivaha Diboua. 34 plastic drums of Cocaine and 15 cartons of tramadol were burnt in full view of the press, government of officials and members of the general public.