Mali officials arrest local leader for drug trafficking in the country's north
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A police officer says that the Malian army has arrested the leader of a village in the country's north on drug trafficking charges.
Chief Warrant officer Alassane Toure said Thursday that the mayor of Tarkint, a village about 160 kilometers (99 miles) north of Gao, was arrested on Wednesday. He identified the man as Baba Ould Cheick and said his name was on a list of six people who were issued arrest warrants in February for drug trafficking. Toure says the arrest took place far from the village.
Toure said that a plane stopped near Tarkint in November 2009 carrying at least five tons of cocaine from Venezuela. He says this is why Cheick was arrested.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Cheick is now in custody in Mali's capital, Bamako.