News briefing week of 14 February

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…

colombia

SEACOP holds technical meetings in Colombia

Last week, SEACOP Regional Coordinator for Latin America Alfredo Diaz Sanchez and representatives from Frontex, held a series of joint technical meetings with Colombian counterparts. In Bogota, the delegation met with the Police Port Area Chief Colonel Yasid Montaño, the Head of the Antinarcotic Directorate-General General Alarcon and representatives from Colombia’s National Navy, in a meeting coordinated…

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 17 August

18/08/2020 – 600kg of cocaine were seized in Rotterdam. The drugs were hidden in a containerised chemical shipment from Brazil. 19/08/2020 – Brazilian authorities dismantled a large drug trafficking ring during an operation mobilising about 600 officers in 13 regions. During this operation, seven aeroplanes and five helicopters as well as other assets linked to the network were confiscated.  21/07/2020 –…

News Briefing – Week of 22 June

22/06/2020 – French customs seized 552 kg of cannabis in a lorry that left Spain and was transporting fruits and vegetable to the Rungis market. 23/06/2020 – Wildlife trafficking in Colombia is prolific. The fight against the wildlife trafficking industry is not yet fully operational because the country is not yet equipped with the adequate legislation and technologies…

CRIMJUST training courses on “specialised controlled deliveries”

CRIMJUST, one of the component projects of the Global Illicit Flows Programme of the European Union, in collaboration with the Iberoamerican Network of Anti-drug Prosecutors (Red de Fiscales Antidroga de Iberoamérica) successfully implemented the first two of a series of four training courses on specialised controlled delivery. Designed to tackle transnational drug trafficking the training…

News Briefing – Week of 25 May

  25/05/2020 – Moroccan authorities are analysing seizures made in 2019. It is reported that 119 tonnes of cannabis were seized as well as 13.5 million cigarettes and 680 000 pills that indicate psychotropic substances.   25/05/2020 – The Colombian army discovered 516kgs of cocaine hidden in 5 plastic containers. It is believed that the now seized drugs were…

News Briefing – Week of 18 May

The lock-down measures adopted in Morocco have disrupted the usual routes used to traffic cannabis towards Europe. Indeed, traffickers were previously relying on the commercial shipping vessels or high-speed boats crossing the Mediterranean. So as to avoid detection, they are favouring longer and more expansive routes however such methodology requires drug hand-overs at high sea.  Burmese authorities…

News Briefing – Week of 23 March

  Several prisoners escaped from four Brazilian prisons after authorities announced the suspension of the one-day release programme. This decision was taken as a preventive measure to avoid the spread of the Coronavirus, COVID-19.   Honduras is becoming a cocaine producing country in addition to being a transit country.  Reporting indicates that, between 2009 and 2020,  12…