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US Treasury Freezes Assets of African 'Drug Kingpins'

   VOA News 02 June 2010
   Ousmane  Conte,  son of Guinea Conakry's late president Lasante Conte,
   sits  in  detention  at the gendarmerie headquaters in Conakry, Guinea
   Conacky (File Photo - 11 Mar 2008)

Photo: AP

   Ousmane  Conte,  son of Guinea Conakry's late president Lasante Conte,
   sits  in  detention  at the gendarmerie headquaters in Conakry, Guinea
   Conacky (File Photo - 11 Mar 2008)

   The United States has imposed sanctions on the son of the late Guinean
   president,  Lansana  Conte,  and a man from Mozambique after they were
   designated "drug kingpins" by U.S. President Barack Obama.

   In a letter to Congress Tuesday, President Obama said Ousmane Conte of
   Guinea,  Mohamed  Bachir Suleman of Mozambique and three others should
   be subject to sanctions under the Kingpin Act.

   Ousmane  Conte,  whose father ruled Guinea for decades until his death
   in   2008,   has   previously  acknowledged  being  involved  in  drug
   trafficking but has denied he was a ringleader.

   A  top Treasury department official said the Mozambican, Suleman, is a
   large-scale  drug  trafficker  and  that  his network contributed to a
   growing drug trade and related money laundering across Africa.

   Three  of  Suleman's  businesses were named as part of his trafficking
   network.  This  means that any of their U.S. assets are now frozen and
   U.S. citizens are forbidden to do business with them.

   Mozambique   has  increasingly  become  a  transit  point  for  drugs,
   including cocaine and heroin, to Europe and South Africa.

   The  treasury  department  has named 87 drug kingpins around the world
   since 2000 and has issued sanctions against more than 700 entities.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP.

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