Ivorian Defense minister Hamed Bakayoko has strongly denied allegations of being a drug trafficker.

A Canadian website Vice has been publishing a series of articles suggesting that he was a “major cocaine trafficker.”

But according to Bakayoko, the allegations by the website goes against his principles as well as tarnishes the image of Ivory Coast.

But the former interior minister has not disclosed whether he intends to sue the website and the journalists in Côte d’Ivoire, Europe or the United States

The authors of the articles have refused to comment on the issue.

Bakayoko recently acted as Prime Minister when PM Coulibaly was on medical leave in France.