Sierra Leone, beware : The U.S and the UN are very serious about transnational crimes

SIERRA LEONE , BEWARE : THE U.S AND THE UN ARE VERY SERIOUS ABOUT TRANSNATIONAL CRIME ( Especially drug trafficking and money laundering)

By Kabs Kanu

The United States and the UN are very serious about transnational crimes , especially drug trafficking and money laundering. Any third World leader and country who do not know that are courting trouble .

I worked at the UN for 10 years as a senior diplomat and I should know that. We had open debates, high- level meetings as well as multilateral sessions in the UN General Assembly , where the seriousness of issues of drug trafficking, human trafficking , money laundering and small arms were discussed, and the necessity stressed to combat them.

Transnational crime is a broad topic encompassing even human trafficking and cybercrime

Transnational crime is a multi-billion dollar industry that involves criminal activities across borders and countries.

This international criminal enterprise bothers the United States and the UN because transnational crimes threaten national and international security, and can have a negative impact on the economy. America and the UN also fear that transnational crimes encourage terrorists to use these international criminal activities to establish cells in unstable and conflict- prone countries. The U.S believes that these terrorist cells could be used to threaten America’s security or her best interests around the world.

Transnational crime provoke transnational threats, security threats that do not originate in and are not confined to a single country, which is why America and the UN are concerned . Terrorism, organized international crime, and the possible acquisition of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) by nongovernmental groups are also commonly cited as examples of transnational crimes.

Also, transnational crime can lead to the illegal trade in weapons, organs, wildlife, and natural resources and exacerbate corruption, extortion, and kidnapping .

Transnational crime can undermine the rule of law and human rights ; It can also disrupt the global supply chain and impact the economy .
Transnational crime can lead to the loss of billions of dollars, which can deepen poverty and compromise legitimate economies .

This is why Sierra Leone must be wary that our country is not blacklisted as a haven of transnational crime.

The recent internationally publicized discovery, in Guinea in a Sierra Leone Embassy vehicle (with diplomatic license plates) of satchets of cocaine, which forced Guinea to declare the Sierra Leone Ambassador persona non grata and the arrests in Liberia and Senegal of Sierra Leoneans allegedly engaged in drug trafficking, is not good for the country. We are treading on dangerous grounds when a whole Sierra Leone doplomatic mission and our citizens are being frequently implicated in drug trafficking.

We advice President Bio sternly not to treat these matters with the kind of levity he has been handing governance, democracy and human rights issues, which have also plagued his tenure since he came to power in 2018.

The U.S, especially, has laws in place against transnational crime that, if invoked, could lead to economic sanctions , travel bans and arrests that could potentially destroy our country. Unlike the bogus travel ban on the Bio government for rigging the 2023 elections, sanctions for teansnational crimes are rigidly enforced.

We have even seen the U.S invade countries and arrest their sitting or former presidents for turning their countries into hubs for trafficking drugs.

Juan Orlando Hernández, Former President of Honduras, was arrested and sentenced to 45 Years in Prison for conspiring to distribute more than 400 Tons of cocaine and related firearms offenses. The U.S also invaded Panama and arrested their military leader Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno for engaging in drug trafficking and building a massive fortune from it.

President Maada Bio, buck up and save Sierra Leone and yourself. Fight this kush and cocaine menace before it sinks our nation into deeper international stigma that might affect even you.