British authorities seized 250 kilos of cocaine and arrested six people aboard yacht off the coast of Wales. The private vessel was heading from Latin America to the UK. The drug had a street value of 20 million euros. Slovenian police dismantled a vast human trafficking network. The group was involved in trafficking some 280…
French and Romanian authorities dismantled a vast human trafficking ring with the support of Eurojust and Europol. 13 victims of sexual exploitation were saved, and 13 suspects were arrested. Russian customs have seized 400 kilos of cocaine estimated around $70M hidden in St-Petersburg port. The illicit drug came by ship from Ecuador and was hidden…
Operation Orion, the Colombia-led multinational anti-narcotics operation has seized 94.2 tonnes of cocaine in its third phase, over a period of 105 days. The seizure is estimated around $3.2 billion. 26.7 tonnes or marijuana valued at $133.7 million were also seized. Orion is a joint naval operation involving 18 countries from Latin America, Europe and…
On April 1, the Ecuadorian authorities detected an aircraft reportedly carrying drugs and making an unauthorized landing in the province of Manabí. Although the plane managed to escape, nine alleged drug traffickers were arrested and US $ 200,000, four firearms and several vehicles were seized. Despite the efforts of the authorities, the “narco-flights” remain a…
During the ministerial segment of the 62nd session of the CND, the Gambian Minister of the Interior announced that his government firmly opposed the decriminalisation of cannabis use highlighting that the drug was responsible for most of the drug-connected crimes in the Gambia. On Monday, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro started off his official visit to…
On February 14, 2019, the work of the SEACOP teams in Barbados resulted in the seizure of over 1 tonne of cannabis, estimated at $9 049 920 and 22.7 kilogrammes of cocaine estimated at $1 135 000. The drugs were found in a container originating from Trinidad and hidden in bales of waste paper. The…
The World Health Organization (WHO) has suggested the reclassification of cannabis as Schedule 1 of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. At least half of the 53 members of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs will have to ratify the proposed amendments, for the proposition to be accepted. However, many of these countries prohibit the use…
A report from the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) critically analysed the UNODC 10-years plan to tackle drug trafficking and highlighted the human cost of the international war on drugs. According to the IDPC, despite UN efforts, drug-related deaths have increased 145% in the last decade. The US Department of Justice revealed a list of…
Island states-such as Palau, Sri Lanka, Faroe Island, Salomon Islands as well as Norway, Namibia, Ghana and Indonesia call the international community to address the correlation between the fishing industry and organised crime. The issue takes different aspects in each country most of them are denouncing illegal fishing, drug and weapons trafficking by sea and…
The Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre – Narcotics (MAOC-N) has been tracking an organised crime group that owns a number of ships that have been linked to the transport of narcotics. The operation began with the seizure of 15 tons of cannabis on the ‘Adam’ by Italian customs in April 2013. The crew of six…
