Africa: Organised Criminals Make Douala Their Gateway to Global Markets

Cameroon’s main seaport has become a transit hub for illegal exports from West and Central Africa.

In May 2023, a customs official in Douala, Cameroon stamped a shipment of timber for export from the Central African Republic (CAR) to China. It seemed like a routine load, an everyday part of international trade.

But the company exporting the logs – Wood International Group – is part of a network of concerns in Africa operated by the Wagner Group, the notorious Russian private military enterprise….