GAFILAT-EU successfully closes after 7 years
The GAFILAT-EU project was successfully completed at the end of June, fulfilling seven years of
News Briefings – Week of 21 March
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…
News Briefing – Week of 29 February
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…
News Briefing – Week of 11 January
The Nigerian civic group called the Civil Society Network against Corruption (CSNAC) submitted a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over a reported case of money laundering that would have involved the National Assembly between 2009 and 2015. According to the civil society, several members of the National Assembly repeatedly violated the…
Raid in Costa Rica reveals presence of Italian mafia in the country
Seven people were arrested in a joint operation of Italian and Costa Rican law enforcement authorities during ten different raids in Pital de San Carlos, Rio Cuardo de Grecia, Santa Barbara de Heredia and San Jose, Costa Rica. Over the last several years, cocaine shipments from Costa Rica have made their way to 39 different…
FBI reveals that petty drug crime is number one offence category in the US
FBI stats reveal that in 2014 drug arrests were the single largest category of offenses with three times as many drug arrests last year as there were arrests for violent crimes. Interestingly, 45% of these were or 700,993 were marijuana related, and 88% for simple possession. Even though several states have legalised cannabis production, sale…
According to the Global Drug Survey cocaine remains the most expensive drug per gram in the world
The vast majority of cocaine users (80%) consumed cocaine less than 10 times in the last 12 months, at an average dose of 1/2gm. This raises questions about the medical risk and dangers assumed to go with the drug. Retail prices vary, with the highest prices per gram recorded in New Zealand and Australia, though…
What harm? A comparative analysis of drug trafficking and organised crime in the Netherlands and Belgium
Two highly regarded researchers in the study of drug trafficking and organized crime presented a radical analysis at last week’s conference of the International Society of the Study of Drug Policy in Ghent. Letizia Paoli (Univeristy of Leuven) and Victoria Greenfield (George Mason University) have a record of contributing to our understanding of drug markets…
News briefing – week beginning 01 January
An alleged drug trafficker suspected of brokering deals between Colombian terrorists and drug traffickers and Mexican transnational criminal organisations, Hermes Alirio Casanova Ordoñez, has been arrested by officials of the Colombian National Army. 339kgs of cocaine paste, used in the production of cocaine, were discovered by Honduran security forces in the Caribbean port of Puerto…
The Rise of Opium-poppy Cultivation in Afghanistan
Afghanistan poppy cultivation is estimated to have hit an all-time high despite the international counter-narcotics efforts. The US has spent an estimated USD $7.5bn in an attempt to curb the phenomenon. At present, opium-poppy is being cultivated on 209,000 hectares (516,230 acres) of land in Afghanistan, indicating a 36% increase from 2012. A report released…