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 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…

News Briefing – Week of 15 February 2021

15/02  – Afghanistan’s opium poppy economy presents a complex policy problem. The latest Drugs & (dis)order project report gives an overview and background understanding of the counter-narcotics laws, policies and programmes that have underpinned counter-narcotics efforts in Afghanistan since 2001.   15/02 – Due to the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, vulnerable communities…

News Briefing – Week of 01 February 2021

01/02 – Hungarian officials found 3,000 boxes of smuggled cigarettes in Röszke during an inspection of a Turkish truck transporting smoked trout fillets.   01/02 – The Bulgarian authorities, with Europol support, took down an organised crime group suspected of currency and document counterfeiting.   02/02 – The Colombian Policía Metropolitana seized 457 kilograms of…

News Briefing – Week of 25 January 2021

25/01 – According to a new report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, Balkan arms smugglers are supplying Sweden’s criminal groups with assault rifles, Serbian pistols and Yugoslav-era hand grenades.   25/01 – The Spanish Civil Guard dismantled an organisation allegedly trafficking drug to other European countries. The agents arrested 24 people and…

News Briefing – Week of 18 January 2021

18/01 – Panamanian law enforcement authorities seized 600 kilos of cocaine hidden in a container in the port of Colon City, Panama.   18/01 – The Dirección Nacional de Control de Drogas (DNCD), in a joint operation with the Armada de República Dominicana and the Ejército, seized 191 packages presumed to be filled with cocaine…