The Governor of Mexico’s Guerrero State is calling for the legalization of opium poppy for medicinal purposes as an alternative plan for minimizing the insecurity in the state, as revealed by Insight Crime. However, as stated by the UNODC Representative to Mexico “structural solutions” must be found to tackle the issue of violence. Reportedly, in…
The Spanish police arrested a number of Dutch citizens smuggling between Malaga and the Netherlands. More than 500 kilos of drugs were seized. In total the Spanish police seized 242.7 kilos of marijuana and 420 kilos of hashish. A recent report on drug trafficking in Venezuelan border state Zulia draws attention to a key cocaine corridor that…
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the European Union and International Police (INTERPOL) have jointly launched a Euro 1.3-million programme to fight money laundering. INTERPOL will support investigative capacity building of law enforcement agencies in the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) Region in the area of financial crimes at national and international…
The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), the body responsible for overseeing implementation of UN drug accords, released its last report. The Report contains chapters on the health and welfare of mankind and the international drug control system. According to the 2016 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Belize has become a transshipment point for marijuana…
Around 300 Ecuadorian fishermen have been arrested in the last three years by foreign authorities for being involved in international drug-trafficking rings. According to the Ecuadorian authorities, the fishermen are now under the custody in the United States, Guatemala or Colombia. The EMCDDA is currently developing estimates of the size of the drug market in the…
A suspected drug smuggler has been arrested at Dusseldorf Airport with 15 kg of cocaine in his suitcase. The man has been identified after flying in from the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo via Madrid. The arrest is part of a wider investigation launched in November. Mauritanian authorities confirmed the connection between drug trafficking networks…
Nigerian Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has accused a number of prominent Nigerians of “cooling down” the war against corruption that President Muhammadu Buhari has undertaken after his election. Osinbajo declared that, despite the pressure made by some members of the Nigerian elite, the administration will keep focusing on the needs of the masses. The Argentinian…
Ghana, Benin and Senegal are proposing a progressive approach to drugs in line with the AU Common African Position for UNGASS 2016. Rather than focusing on disproportionate law enforcement and repression, this common position will emphasise harm reduction over punitive measures. Ghana is currently reviewing its drug law, and it has set up an inter-ministerial…
Eighty seizures of drugs and 70 people were arrested during an INTERPOL operation targeting drug trafficking routes from Latin America via Africa to Europe. The operation was realised in collaboration with AIRCOP JAITFs that were able to share information via INTERPOL’s system I-24/7 and CENcomm, WCO’s communication tool. Argentinian President Macri declared a one-year national…
Twenty judges of the Ghanaian Lower Court were arrested after months of investigations following the release of a documentary film in September that showed judges and magistrates accepting bribes to influence their verdicts in court. However, the judges will not be tried for their crimes. Ghana’s Chief of Justice Georgina Wood declared that resolute measures…
