Alan Jalloh, 40, was reportedly abducted in downtown Freetown, Sierra Leone, along with two friends, one of them a well-known footballer. Witnesses said that several masked, white men forced the three into a black Toyota RAV4 near Goodies supermarket during rush hour. None of the three has been seen since.

The incident was described as part of an investigation into cocaine trafficking and its alleged impact on Sierra Leone, which characterized the country as having become a narco-state. The account was based on interviews with intelligence and police officers in Europe and Africa.