News briefing – week of 2 May

05/05 Taliban opium ban could lead to increase in organised crime and terrorism. The Taliban’s recent ban on opium cultivation in Afghanistan, a repeat of previous attempts under Taliban rule up to 2001, shows how large-scale illicit drug economies are a fierce vector for organised crime and terrorism. The ban was announced last month in response to…

CRIMJUST and the UNODC launch the second issue of the series Cocaine Insights

While the first issue of the “Cocaine Insights” series focused on the trade of cocaine, the trends, and the evolving market, the second issue concentrates on the variety of cocaine products available. As cocaine presents an important health and security risk for Europe and globally, it is important to understand the ways coca is cultivated,…

CRIMJUST launches the first issue of the new “Cocaine Insights” publication series – The illicit trade of cocaine from Latin America to Europe: from oligopolies to free-for-all?

On 7 September 2021, CRIMJUST launched the first issue of a new publication series “Cocaine Insights” in an online event during which UNODC and EUROPOL presented the main findings. In the opening remarks, Ms Chloé Carpentier, from the UNODC’s Drug Research Section, noted that while the cultivation and production of cocaine is concentrated in Latin…

News briefing week of 23 August

25/08 Latin America’s Marijuana Markets Diversify. A series of seizures and drug raids across Latin America have revealed how previously niche high-strength marijuana products are establishing themselves within the region’s drug markets. 27/08 Two people were arrested in a tik (crystal methamphetamine) bust in Cape Town on Thursday night, Western Cape police said. The raid…

News briefing week of 16 August

16/08 Afghanistan: Cheap heroin could flood European countries after Taliban takeover. With Afghanistan entering a new period of economic and political insecurity, the country’s opium production is set to soar, say experts, meaning cheap heroin could flood the streets of European towns and cities, along with the country’s deadly new export, crystal meth. 16/08 Cocaine…

News briefing week of 09 August

12/08 Organized Crime and Corruption: a “Cause and Consequence” of Climate Change. After the U.N. climate panel report called this week for an urgent and drastic cut in CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions, experts told the OCCRP that organized crime and corruption play a significant role in the state of the climate crisis. 12/08…

News briefing week of 02 August

02/08 Dominican gangs have become Spain’s primary urban security threat. On July 23, Spanish authorities announced the arrest of seven members of the Dominicans Don’t Play (DDP) street gang and the dismantling of a local chapter that operated in the Henares corridor of the greater Madrid area. 03/08 Colombia announces seizure of 116 tons of…

News briefing week of 26 July

28/07 Paraguay seizes more than 3,400 kilos of cocaine. Authorities say the cocaine was being stashed in a load of sugar for international shipment. The destination is for the moment unknown. 28/07 Over 4,500 kilos of cocaine were seized in the Rotterdam port in two different fruit shipments. Customs officials found over 1,500 kilograms of…

News briefing week of 19 July

22/07 Spain and Serbia dismantle Serbian marijuana trafficking network. 43 members of a Serbian organised crime group have been arrested for their involvement in producing and distributing marijuana and hashish. 22/07 350 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a coffee bean shipment from Guatemala were seized by the Greek police at the port of Piraeus. The…

News briefing week of 12 July

13/07 Cocaine worth $15 million was seized in Puerto Rico, two men arrested, following the interdiction of a go-fast vessel in Mona Passage waters near Mona Island, Puerto Rico. The interdiction resulted from multi-agency efforts in support of U.S. Southern Command’s enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere and coordination with the Caribbean Corridor Strike…