News briefing – Week of 10 October

11/10 – Belgium to step up fight against organised crime, as analyst warns war on drugs is lost. The Belgian government is stepping up its fight against organised crime and the drug smuggling that goes with it by hiring more customs agents at the Port of Antwerp. As Europe’s second largest port, millions of shipping…

News Briefing – Week of 3 October

06/10 – Italian operation takes down corrupt port workers facilitating ‘Ndrangheta drug trafficking activities. With the support of Europol and Eurojust, the Italian Financial Corps (Guardia di Finanza) has dismantled a criminal network which relied on corrupt workers in the port of Gioia Tauro to smuggle hundreds of millions of euros’ worth of cocaine into…

News Briefing – Week of 26 September

27/09 – Kingpins of sexual exploitation gang arrested in Berlin. The German Regional Police of Berlin (Landeskriminalamt Berlin) and the Hungarian National Bureau of Investigation THB Unit (Nemzeti Nyomozó Iroda Emberkereskedelem Elleni Osztály), supported by Europol, have dismantled a criminal network involved in human trafficking for sexual exploitation. The investigation resulted in a simultaneous action…

News brief – Week of 12 September

12/09 – Oil theft, an organised crime – PENGASSAN seeks police collaboration to end menace. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has described oil theft and pipelines vandalism in the country as organised crime. In a letter delivered to the Commission of Police, Lagos State, Abiodun Alabi, through the Assistant…

News brief – Week of 5 September

05/09 – Asia: Sextortion ring dismantled by police. In June 2022, INTERPOL launched a public awareness campaign warning Internet users of a dramatic increase in digital extortion threats. […] A joint investigation supported by INTERPOL has so far linked the syndicate to 34 cases, with 12 arrests. 05/06 – Mexico’s Bold Move Against Gun Companies.…

News brief – Week of 29 August

30/08 – Tobacco products and cigarette manufacturing equipment seized in international action. An action day in Belgium has led to the seizure of over 57 million cigarettes and more than 48 tons of cut tobacco. Organised by Belgian Customs (Algemene Administratie van Douane en Accijnzen/Administration Générale des Douanes et Accises) and carried out based on…

News brief – Week of 22 August

22/08 – Spain’s Drug-Trafficking Queen Caught With 24 Pounds of Cocaine. A notorious drug trafficker, nicknamed the “Queen of Ronda,” has been busted in Spain with 24 lbs of cocaine. Spanish police said they also found nearly $23,000 hidden in Maria del Mar’s car after arresting the notorious trafficker during a drug deal. 22/08 –…

News brief – Week of 15 August

15/08 – FBI Announces Results of Nationwide Sex Trafficking Operation. The FBI, working with its state and local partners during two weeks in August, identified and located 84 minor victims of child sex trafficking and child sexual exploitation offenses and located 37 actively missing children during a nationwide enforcement campaign, dubbed “Operation Cross Country.” The…

News Brief – week of 8 August

08/08 – U.S. slams China’s ‘unacceptable’ disruption in countering fentanyl. China’s move to suspend cooperation with the United States to combat narcotics trafficking, including illicit fentanyl, is “unacceptable,” the White House said on Monday, as Beijing continued to protest a visit to Taiwan by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 12/08 – AFP seizes 208 kilograms…

News Brief – Week of 1 August

01/08 – Inaugural Pacific regional conference talk transnational organised crime. The Inaugural Pacific Regional Law Enforcement Conference officially began today at the Hilton Resort on Denarau Island in Nadi. The three-day conference brought together representatives from the police, Customs and Immigration from across the Pacific, with academic partners. While opening the event, Acting Minister for…