News Briefing – Week of 27 July

29/07/2020 – The Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs stated during a press briefing that Africa has become a hub for organised crime and a source of illicit drugs, mentioning the involvement of Nigerian organisation in the manufacture of methamphetamines. 30/07/2020 -A fleet of 206 Chinese fishing boats…

News briefing – Week of 13 July

14/07/2020 – The former Surinamese minister of Justice, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, has been elected president of Suriname. 13/07/2020 – Guinea has issued an arrest warrant against a Guinean citizen residing in Germany who is allegedly involved in the forging of visas. Guinean customs had previously seized 7300 stamped visas in a truck that had traveled from Germany. 14/07/2020…

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 1 June

  1/06/2020 – As law enforcement focuses of the Coronavirus lockdown measures, a substantial increase in cannabis cultivation in Albania is anticipated. Recent seizures indicate that the Balkan route remains a favoured trafficking route for Europe destined cannabis. Albania is also about to conclude a draft law which allows for the cultivation of medical cannabis in…

Newsbriefing – Week of 1 April

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…

CORMS Mission in Latin America

The mission of the Cocaine Route Monitoring and Support (CORMS) on seaport cooperation’s state of play in five Latin American countries kicked-off in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where the team attended the second Regional Workshop for Maritime Intelligence Units (MIUs) organised by the SEACOP project from March 19 to 21.  The event was opened by a representative of the EU delegation to…

Newsbriefing – Week of 18 February

The trial of the “Air Cocaine” drug-trafficking case started on 18 February in Aix-en-Provence, France. The case involves the seizure of 680 kilos of cocaine on board of a private jet in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic back in 2013. Both the pilots and passengers are facing up severe sentences. The kidnapping and assassination of three…

CRIMJUST supports Peru in fostering international judicial cooperation in organised crime and drug trafficking

Under the framework of CRIMJUST, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) delivered a workshop in International Judicial Cooperation in cases of organised crime, drug trafficking and money laundering, in collaboration with the National Commission for Development and Life Without Drugs (DEVIDA PERU) and the Iberoamerican Network of Anti-Drug Prosecutors (RFAI), on 26-28…

CRIMJUST promotes exchange with Mexican Police and General Prosecutor

CRIMJUST partner countries met, between 28 and 29 August, with representatives of the Mexican Federal Police and the General Prosecutor of the Republic in Mexico to exchange best practices in effectively tackling drug trafficking. Aimed at enhancing regional and south-south cooperation, CRIMJUST in collaboration with the UNODC Mexico regional office, organised an exchange visit to…