The SEACOP team continues its outreach meetings in the Caribbean, with a visit to Barbados last Friday 27 November 2021. Led by Team Leader Dominique Bucas and Regional Coordinator for the Caribbean Karen Clarke, the SEACOP delegation met with Commodore E.R. Shurland, head of Barbados Defense force, Graham Archer from the Regional Security System and Captain…
22/11 GI-TOC uncovers the scope of contract killings linked to organized crime. At least 2,700 contract killings took place in 2019 and 2020 in more than 80 countries, enabling criminals to silence those who oppose them and dissuade efforts into investigating their activities, according to a Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) report. 23/11…
Last week, SEACOP Regional Coordinator for the Caribbean Karen Clarke kicked off a series of outreach visits to partner countries of the region, starting with Jamaica on 22-25 November 2021. She met with a number of key local stakeholders, namely Jamaica Constabulary Force, Jamaica Customs Agency and Jamaica Defence Force – Coastguard, to discuss further…
In early November 2021, the SEACOP project contributed to the seizure of 648kg of cocaine through a joint operation between Spanish, Colombian and Italian authorities. Started back in July 2021, the investigation involved various entities working in anti-drug trafficking and transnational maritime security. Notably, the operation was initiated by the Chief of the Census Room…
15/11 Narcotics trafficker extradited from Colombia to face international cocaine distribution charges. Fabian Emilio Zapata Taborda is allegedly responsible for supplying cocaine to the Clan del Golfo and other drug trafficking organizations. 16/11 Italian police break up drug smuggling ring tied to Calabria mob. Over 100 people were arrested in Italy as members of a…
08/11 Gold, diamonds and drugs: Portuguese peacekeepers suspected of smuggling. Portuguese police have clamped down on a crime ring that allegedly involved the country’s U.N. peacekeepers in the Central African Republic (CAR) using military planes to smuggle gold, diamonds and drugs, authorities said on Monday. According to Portuguese police, the “criminal network” had international links…
01/11 Customs officials made the largest drug bust of 2021 at the Port of Rotterdam as 4,178 kilos of cocaine was seized in the Netherlands. According to a statement published by the Public Prosecution Service in Rotterdam on Sunday, customs officials found the drugs in two containers from Paraguay, which were loaded onto another ship…
COLIBRI’s 4th expert coordination meeting was held in Brussels from October 25 to 29, 2021. The first in-person meeting after the outbreak of the COVID19 pandemic brought together 25 experts from 3 continents. In the meeting, members from the French National Gendarmerie, as well as experts from the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre- Narcotics (MAOC-N),…
26/10 Criminal group behind €45 million money laundering scheme dismantled in Spain. On 6 October 2021, 5 suspects were arrested in the Spanish province of Valencia for allegedly belonging to a criminal organisation that had laundered more than €45 million in Spain. This operation was carried out by the Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional), together…
