The data that we do (not) have: studying drug trafficking and organised crime in Africa.

This article explores the challenges and limitations of measuring drug trafficking in Africa. It discusses how the framing of drug trafficking at the international and regional level can shape its empirical assessment and highlights the difficulties in obtaining accurate data on drug flows. The article critically reviews three commonly referenced metrics of drug trafficking and examines the methods used by domestic agencies in Nigeria, Senegal, and Mali to generate and share information on drug trafficking. It argues for a reevaluation of existing metrics and the adoption of a relational interpretation of evidence to better understand drug trafficking in Africa. The article also discusses the challenges and limitations of measuring drug trafficking flows, particularly in Africa. It highlights that drug-related arrests often target low-level offenders and do not effectively reduce drug flows. Limited access to data and bureaucratic inertia also hinder critical scrutiny of drug policies. The article examines two widely used open-source databases, the US International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) and the UN World Drug Report (WDR), and discusses their shortcomings in providing accurate and reliable information. The article emphasizes the need for in-depth analysis and caution when using these databases to assess drug trafficking in Africa. The reliability of data on drug trafficking in Africa is highly controversial due to challenges in data collection and sharing. Drug flows often target areas where authorities are unable or unwilling to provide data. The UNODC's methodology heavily relies on state-reported seizures data, which may be deceptive. Additionally, there is a lack of resources and political motivation to collect data on drug prevalence rates in African countries [Extracted from the article]