evidence: The introduction of systematic road checkpoints represented an attempted formalization of JNIM’s relationship with smugglers in Burkina Faso, which, in the earlier phase of their presence, was more informal and based on an ad hoc exchange of goods and services. However, it appears that the presence of both JNIM on the Burkinabé side and Beninois forces on the Benin side has discouraged the use of this road. Much of the smuggling that used to pass through the disputed town of Koalou/Kourou on the Burkinabé-Beninois border has therefore been diverted towards Cinkansé in Burkina Faso,10 a town bordering northern Togo that acts as a principal transit point for a myriad of illicit commodities both entering and exiting the country.11 JNIM has made use of checkpoints in other parts of Burkina Faso and Niger, although these are often focused on controlling road traffic, and do not always attempt to extract payments from road users.