Côte d’Ivoire: Cocoa buyers face robbery risks in bush

Ivory Coast's cocoa merchants risk their money and their lives on the road as highway robbers increasingly target their cars to seize cash destined to buy beans, a senior police officer said on Wednesday (31 January). Millions of CFA francs have been stolen from cocoa buyers so far in this 2006/07 season by thieves who stop buyers' cars either by holding up the drivers with guns or by mounting fake police checkpoints and dressing in military uniforms.