21/02 Tobacco smuggling ring brought down in Spain and Portugal. With the support of Europol’s European Financial and Economic Crime Centre, a joint investigation between Spain’s Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) and Customs Surveillance Directorate (Dirección Adjunta de Vigilancia Aduanera) and Portugal’s Republican National Guard (Guardia Nacional Republicana) has led to the dismantlement of a criminal…
With the support of AIRCOP, customs officers seized cocaine at Dakar airport in Senegal. The seizure was made by elements of the airport anti-trafficking unit (CAAT) of AIBD, from a South African national. Having targeted the passenger on the basis of the analysis of her travel documents, they detected inconsistencies in her declarations and the…
On 17 February 2022, MASIF organised its third Steering Committee. This hybrid meeting was held both in Brussels and remotely, bringing together all the projects constituting the GIFP. On this occasion, AIRCOP, SEACOP, COLIBRI, DISRUPT, EU-ACT, CRIMJUST, MASIF and FIREARMS provided updates on their progress, achievements, and responses to tackle illicit routes and organised crime.…
The EU-funded project SEACOP V and the Ministry for the Public Service, Home Affairs Labour and Gender Affairs of St Lucia, on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding to pursue cooperation in the fight against illicit maritime trade. Represented by Minister Dr Virginia Albert-Poyotte, and SEACOP Regional Coordinator for the Caribbean, Karen Clarke, the event…
15/02 45 people arrested in the crackdown on Albanian-speaking criminals and cocaine trafficking. An international operation involving judicial and law enforcement authorities in eight countries has resulted in the takedown of one of Europe’s most active Albanian-speaking cocaine trafficking networks Europe. On this occasion, Eurojust and Europol supported a series of actions carried out in…
The coordinator of the SEACOP project in Africa, Mr. Eric Wiart, and the deputy coordinator, Mr. Thierry Thimon, carried out a mission to The Gambia on 8, 9 and 10 February 2022, in order to assess the conditions for the implementation of phase V of the SEACOP project there. This project, which began in 2012…
This week, SEACOP organised a training for members of the Joint Maritime Control Unit of Saint Lucia, which aimed to equip them with the knowledge and skills pertaining to the control of ships of various types. The sessions, both theoretical and practical exercises -as displayed in the yacht search pictures- revolved around: control methodology, security,…
07/02 Ammunition seized in Dakar from a Guyanese ship. The Eolika, a cargo ship flying the Guyanese flag, was detained in the port of Dakar. When the authorities searched the vessel, three containers of Italian-made ammunition worth an estimated $5 million were seized. https://allafrica.com/stories/202202080183.html 07/02 The discovery of a torture chamber used by drug gangs. Seized in…
A group of officers part of the Customs and Exercise Division -the Joint Maritime Control Units established with the support of SEACOP back in March 2016- has recovered 15 firearms, 12 magazines and 963 live rounds of ammunition hidden in several items in a cargo container on the port of Woodbridge Bay Port, Dominica, last week.…
