26/04 Surge in drug abuse strains Zimbabwe’s health system. Zimbabwe does not have official data on drug or substance abuse, but organisations such as ZCLDN say anecdotal evidence points to high illicit drug use in the country, especially after the outbreak of Covid-19. 29/04 New Europol and EMCDDA Analyses of the European Drug Market. Europol and…
18/04 The global environmental impacts of cocaine. The environmental impacts of cocaine have long been known. Studies raised alarm bells in the 1990s over narco-driven deforestation, soil degradation and pollution in Latin America. Today, the impacts all along the illegal drug supply chain are even better understood and documented but remain underrecognized and underreported. 21/04…
07/04 Cape Verdean police seize over 5 tonnes of cocaine. Cape Verdean police seized more than five tonnes of cocaine at sea onboard a fishing boat from Brazil, with the help of American agents. 09/04 Major cocaine smuggling gang busted in Algeciras with 3,500 kilos of the drug found. A joint operation involving officers from…
21/03 CRIMJUST organised its first capacity-building on “Cyber Elements of Drug Trafficking Investigations” under the framework of its new INL-funded project in West Africa. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) held a training on “Cyber Elements of Drug Trafficking Investigations”, in Cotonou, Benin for law enforcement officers from the Republican Police of Benin and…
9/03 Arrests and seizures in a 28-country operation targeting trafficking in cultural property. A global operation targeting illicit trafficking in cultural goods has led to 52 arrests and the seizure of 9 408 cultural artefacts across the world. These priceless items include archaeological objects, furniture, coins, paintings, musical instruments and statuettes. 08/03 Southern Cone Ports…
28/03 Criminal network distributing fake dark web documents busted. An investigation by the French Border Police (Police aux Frontières/Police Judiciaire which forms part of the National Police) and the Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional), supported by Europol, led officers to the dismantling of an organised crime group involved in the procurement and distribution of forged…
21/02 Tobacco smuggling ring brought down in Spain and Portugal. With the support of Europol’s European Financial and Economic Crime Centre, a joint investigation between Spain’s Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) and Customs Surveillance Directorate (Dirección Adjunta de Vigilancia Aduanera) and Portugal’s Republican National Guard (Guardia Nacional Republicana) has led to the dismantlement of a criminal…
15/02 45 people arrested in the crackdown on Albanian-speaking criminals and cocaine trafficking. An international operation involving judicial and law enforcement authorities in eight countries has resulted in the takedown of one of Europe’s most active Albanian-speaking cocaine trafficking networks Europe. On this occasion, Eurojust and Europol supported a series of actions carried out in…
07/02 Ammunition seized in Dakar from a Guyanese ship. The Eolika, a cargo ship flying the Guyanese flag, was detained in the port of Dakar. When the authorities searched the vessel, three containers of Italian-made ammunition worth an estimated $5 million were seized. https://allafrica.com/stories/202202080183.html 07/02 The discovery of a torture chamber used by drug gangs. Seized in…
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…
