Price is in US Dollars, and represents the typical price of Marijuana in Africa.

Source: UNODC, “World Drug Report 2009: Section 3.4 Prices, pages 215 to 234,” June 2009.

Price is in US Dollars and represents the typical price of Cocaine in Africa.

Source:  UNODC, “World Drug Report 2009: Section 3.4 Prices, pages 215 to 234,” June 2009.

Price is in US Dollar and represents the typical price of Ecstasy in Africa.

Source: UNODC, “World Drug Report 2009: Section 3.4 Prices, pages 215 to 234,” June 2009.

Prices are in US Dollars and represent the typical price of heroin in Africa.

Source: UNODC, “World Drug Report 2009: Section 3.4 Prices, pages 215 to 234,” June 2009.

Poor people in Egypt are selling their kidneys to organ traffickers for as little as $2,000, according to a report by the Associated Press.  On the buyer side, the article reports that rich Saudis are paying up to $16,000 for a black market transplant.

Source:  Associated Press, “Black market organ trade still thrives in Egypt,” MSNBC, March 17, 2009.

Despite the best efforts of Israel and the United States, smuggling tunnels under Gaza continue to be used.

From the AP (via Google News):

Angry at Hamas’ ability to fire rockets at Israel, the United States last year allocated $23 million to help train Egyptian officials to stop the smuggling into Gaza through tunnels at a border plagued by crisis and corruption.

Months later, there is little noticeable effect: Smuggling has continued at a robust pace, allowing Hamas militants in Gaza to gain rockets to shoot at Israeli citizens. Israel’s military says about 300 tunnels ran under the Gaza-Egypt border before its military offensive began Dec. 27. Since then, Israel has bombed dozens of them.

The story of the U.S.-funded program and its lack of impact on the problem is a cautionary tale of how hard it has been to control Gaza’s border with Egypt — at a time when patrolling that frontier and stopping the weapons flow are once again hot issues as mediators seek a cease-fire in Gaza.

More on the tunnels from the LA Times:

Some of them are said to be big enough to accommodate railroad cars. They may reach a depth of 60 feet, and are reported to be equipped with cables and electric motors that move food, fuel — and probably some of the heaviest rockets that Hamas aims at Israel.

They also are one of the main reasons fighting is continuing in the Gaza Strip.

A man was detained in Egypt after airport security officials found mummies in his luggage.

According to a report from the BBC, the man was attempting to smuggle numerous antiquities out of the country.

From the BBC:

An airport official said the mummies of a cat and an ibis, a long-beaked bird, dated back to 300 BC.

He said another 19 figurines of ancient Egyptian gods were also found in the passenger’s bags.

The man has been charged with smuggling antiquities, which can carry a penalty of up to 15 years in prison.

The kidnappers of 11 Europeans and 8 Egyptians in Cairo has publicly demanded $6 million in ransom.

From the IHT:

The kidnappers of 11 European tourists and 8 Egyptians who were taken in a remote desert area of southwestern Egypt on Friday night have demanded $6 million to free them, an Egyptian government official said early Tuesday. Negotiations were under way, said the official, Magdy Radi, a cabinet spokesman.

The tourism group was ambushed by armed masked men while driving off-road vehicles in a rugged, remote area called Kark Talh, government officials said. Five Italians, five Germans and a Romanian were in the group, along with an Egyptian police officer, four Egyptian drivers, two Egyptian tour guides and the managing director of the tour company, the government said. Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism said that the kidnappers drove toward the border with Sudan.