UNODC presents the main findings from its work in supporting the process of destruction/incineration of illicit drugs seized in Bolivia in the first semester of 2018

Article, Bolivia, Cocaine, CORMS, Drug war, EU, Latin America, Production, Publication, Security context

During its mission to Bolivia, CORMS attended, on 23 July, the presentation of the main findings from the UNODC’s work in supporting the process of destruction/incineration of illicit drugs seized in Bolivia in the first semester of 2018. The Representative of the UNODC in Bolivia, Mr. Thierry Rostan, who gave the presentation, recognised the work…

News Briefing-Week of 16 of July

Africa, AIRCOP, Cocaine, Colombia, Cooperation, EU, Latin America, Marijuana, Newsbriefings, Peru, Production, Security context, UN, West Africa

UNODC and the G5 Sahel agreed, during a joint meeting organised in Nouakchott on 18 July 2018, to strengthen their cooperation in the areas of security and justice. Support in the opening of three new Joint Airport Interdiction Task Forces (JAITF), in N’Djamena (Chad), Nouakchott (Mauritania), Agadez (Niger), as part of the AIRCOP program was…

News Briefing- Week of 9 of July

Africa, Brazil, Caribbean, Cocaine, Colombia, Consumption, Cooperation, Corruption, Drug policy, EU, Legislation, Marijuana, Money laundering, Newsbriefings, Trafficking

Between March and May 2018, INTERPOL coordinated operations in 36 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and South America, with the aim of shutting down factories and cutting off supply chains behind a wide range of counterfeit goods and the organised crime networks directing them. The operations yielded  global seizures worth USD 25 million.…

News Briefing- Week of 2 of July

Africa, Cocaine, Colombia, Consumption, Cooperation, Costa Rica, Drug policy, EU, Ghana, Impact, Legislation, Marijuana, Mozambique, Newsbriefings, Panama, Peru, Production, Security context, Security threats, Trafficking, West Africa

The United Kingdom Border Force Unit has handed over two operational vans and equipment valued at $120,000 Dollars to the Narcotic Control Board (NACOB) to boost Ghana’s fight against drug trafficking. Mozambique has become a significant heroin transit centre. Estimations suggest 40 tonnes or more per year are traded from Mozambique, making it a major…

News Briefing- Week of 25 of June

Africa, Cocaine, Colombia, Consumption, Drug policy, Drug war, EU, Latin America, Mexico, Money laundering, Newsbriefings, NPS, Production, Security context, Trafficking, UN, US

Left-wing candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador has claimed victory in Mexico’s presidential election, held on 1 July. One of his main policies is combating Mexico’s record levels of violence, much of it related to drug cartels. Epidiolex, a cannabis-based treatment for childhood epilepsy developed, is set to be launched in the autumn after being approved…

Cocaine production hits absolute record highs according to the latest UNODC World Drug Report

Article, Cocaine, Consumption, Drug policy, Impact, Marijuana, NPS, Production, Publication, Security threats, Trafficking, UN

  The 2018 World Drug Report, launched on 26 June by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), provides a global overview of the supply and demand of opiates, cocaine, cannabis, amphetamine-type stimulants and new psychoactive substances (NPS), as well as their impact on health. Moreover, it highlights the different drug use patterns…

News Briefing-Week of 18 of June

Cocaine, Colombia, Consumption, Cooperation, Drug policy, EU, Impact, Latin America, Legislation, Marijuana, Newsbriefings, Production, Trafficking

Recreational marijuana use will soon be legal in Canada after the Senate passed a “historic” bill on 19 June with a vote of 52-29. Canada is only the second country in the world — and the first G7 nation — to implement legislation to permit a nationwide marijuana market. Fourteen cocaine-soaked shirts styled like the…

News Briefing-Week of 11 of June

Caribbean, Cocaine, Colombia, Conflicts, Cooperation, Costa Rica, Drug war, Honduras, Latin America, Mexico, Newsbriefings, Panama, Security context, Trafficking, US

Conservative candidate Ivan Duque has won Colombia’s presidential runoff election on 17 June 2018. Duque’s presidential agenda included next to the peace deal also narco-trafficking. Colombia’s production of cocaine has increased, and armed groups are fighting each other for control of routes once controlled by FARC. The cocaine kingpin, Edgar Valdez Villarreal, known as “La…

Mozambique: seizures of cocaine and diamonds as a result of AIRCOP training

Africa, AIRCOP, Cocaine, Cooperation, Mozambique, Trafficking

On 8 June 2018, the future Joint Airport Interdiction Task Force (JAITF) at Maputo International Airport (Mozambique) concluded its initial training provided by Brazilian Federal Police and UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) experts. The training was the first step towards the establishment of the JAITF. Additional training and mentoring activities will be…