Karen Clarke Jamaica SEACOP

SEACOP kicks off bilateral meetings in Jamaica

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…

seizure SEACOP cocaine Malaga

SEACOP contributes to seizure of 648kg of cocaine in Malaga

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…

News briefing week of 15 November

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…

News briefing week of 08 November

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…

News briefing week of 01 November

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 holds 4th expert coordination meeting

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),…

News briefing week of 25 October

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…

SEACOP contributes to seizure of 2 tons of cocaine in Dakar

The Joint Unit for the Control of Containers and Vessels (Unité Mixte de Contrôle des Conteneurs et des Navires-UMCCN) in Dakar (Senegal) intervened on 18 October to carry out a search on the yacht “La Rosa” in the port of Dakar. The UMCCN trained in ship searches by the SEACOP project found a hideout behind…