Tarkint

Tarkint is a village and commune in the Cercle of Bourem in the Gao Region of north-eastern Mali. The village is 70 km (43 mi) northeast of Bourem and 123 km (76 mi) from Gao. Tarkint extends for 23,000 km² and includes part of the Tilemsi Valley. In the 2009 census Tarkint had a population of 19,082.

Tarkint
Commune and village
Tarkint Location in Mali
Coordinates: 17°28′37.2″N 0°06′58.6″E
Country	Mali
Region	Gao Region
Cercle	Bourem Cercle
Government
• Type	Elected body
• Mayor	Baba Ould Cheikh Sid’Elmoctar Alkounti
Area [1]
• Total	23,000 km2 (9,000 sq mi)
Elevation	305 m (1,000 ft)
Population  (2009 census)[2]
• Total	19,082
• Density	0.83/km2 (2.1/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)

Cocaine Air

The sandblown village became notorious in 2009, when the burnt-out wreckage of an old Boeing 727 airliner was found abandoned in the desert, 85 miles north of Gao, at the scene of the so-called "Cocaine Air" incident. It is believed that the aircraft had been transporting up to 10 tons of cocaine.^[3]

References

1. Plan de Securite Alimentaire Commune de Tarkint 2005-2009 (PDF) (in French), Commissariat à la Sécurité Alimentaire, République du Mali, USAID-Mali, 2005.
2. Resultats Provisoires RGPH 2009 (Région de Gao) (PDF) (in French), République de Mali: Institut National de la Statistique.
3. Revealed: how Saharan caravans of cocaine help to fund al-Qaeda in terrorists' North African domain. telegraph.co.uk. From 26 January 2013