São Tomé port police seize over a kilogram of cannabis on a Lagos ship

São Tomé port police intercepted more than a kilogram of liamba, or cannabis, on 9 November 2017. A Nigerian crew member and a São Toméan alleged accomplice were detained after an attempted shipment on a vessel linking Lagos with São Tomé, according to the state news agency’s report the following day.^[1]

The investigation centred on a shipping route

Suleimany Tenjua, director of the criminal investigation police, described the operation at São Tomé’s port. The authorities said the crew member and his alleged accomplice had tried to bring the cannabis into the country. The report said both remained detained and would be presented to the judicial authorities.^[1]

STP-PRESS reported possible prison terms of two to twelve years if the judicial authorities confirmed a trafficking accusation. At that stage, the public account described a seizure, two suspects and the next steps in the investigation.^[1]

Importing cannabis fell under trafficking

The 2012 Penal Code treated unauthorised importing, transporting and supplying cannabis as trafficking, ordinarily punishable by two to twelve years. A substantially less serious case carried one to five years, depending on factors including the circumstances, means used and drug quantity.^[2]

For personal use, the code provided a different rule: consuming cannabis, or acquiring, holding or cultivating a small personal quantity, could bring up to three months in prison or a fine. An occasional consumer within that basic rule could be excused from punishment.^[2]

Foreign suspects faced an additional possible consequence

The code also allowed a court to expel a foreign national convicted of an offence in the drug chapter for up to ten years. That placed an additional possible consequence before foreign defendants alongside the criminal sentence.^[2]

The country profile explains those personal-use, supply and visitor rules. The port case shows how a cross-border shipment brought police attention to a crew member and an alleged local participant in the same investigation.^[1][2]

Later operations targeted fields and public sales

In July 2024, police’s Operation 971 targeted cannabis fields and sales points across the country. A later RSTP account reported nine arrests, involving seven men and two women, and described cooperation with the prison service and the state leaders’ protection unit.^[3]

The following July, police arrested three men in Parque Popular with cannabis and amphetamines. Judicial authorities imposed bail. The later cases added domestic cultivation and alleged public dealing to the history of cannabis enforcement.^[3]