News briefings week of 20 June

21/06 Phishing gang behind several million euros worth of losses busted in Belgium and the Netherlands. The suspects sent emails and text messages with phishing links to bogus banking websites. A cross-border operation, supported by Europol and involving the Belgian Police and the Dutch Police, resulted in the dismantling of this organised crime group involved…

News briefing – Week of 30 May

30/05 Five arrests in Hungary for money laundering across three continents. The Budapest Metropolitan Police (Budapesti Rendőr-főkapitányság), supported by Europol, dismantled a criminal organisation involved in money laundering and perpetrating fraud using administrative documents. 01/06 Security Challenges Threaten to Derail Democratic Strides in Central African Region, Briefers Tell Security Council. Marking both democratic strides and…

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…

News briefing week of 31 January

31/01 The crime gangs cashing in by burying illegal waste. Organised crime gangs are illegally burying thousands of tonnes of waste across Scotland, a BBC investigation has found. Some of the rubbish is being brought up from the north of England by the gangs and is believed to include hazardous clinical waste from hospitals. 01/02…

News Briefing – Week of 22 February 2021

22/02 – German police arrested two suspects and raided over 20 locations in Berlin during a massive operation that targeted members of a family-based organized crime group allegedly involved in arms and drug trafficking, financial crime, and other crimes.   23/02 – Indonesian authorities seized over 11,000 wild birds last month, mostly songbirds headed for…

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 08 February 2021

08/02 – In a joint operation by the Spanish Civil Guard, the National Police and the Internal Revenue Service dismantled an alleged Chinese Mafia organisation dedicated to international drug trafficking and money laundering through parcel companies. Agents arrested 38 suspects and carried out 30 searches in the provinces of Madrid, Salamanca, Toledo, Asturias, Lugo and…

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…