Spanish Police arrested eleven suspects after custom officers seized one tonne of cocaine concealed inside fake stones. The organised crime group was working with the stone industry to smuggle large quantities of drugs from Colombia into the port of Barcelona, to be later distributed throughout Europe. Belgian authorities dismantled a major illegal cigarette factory and…
Turkish police have arrested twenty alleged smugglers, members of one of Europe’s largest human trafficking ring, as part of joint intelligence operations across Turkey. The organisation smuggled migrants from Afghanistan and northern Iraq to European countries, in exchange for large sums of money. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will provide support to countries of…
7,4 tonnes of cannabis were seized in the Mediterranean by French customs. The French Navy also took part in the operation, spotting and escorting the racing boat to Toulon military base. Three Turkish nationals suspected of drug trafficking were arrested in the operation.
Peru tries to curb illegal gold mining in the Amazon with new Operation Mercury. Since February 2019, authorities evicted 25.000 illegal gold miners and deployed hundreds of policemen and military troops for the long term in the Tambopata region, a centre for illicit mining. Illegal mining Madre de Dios is linked with drug trafficking and prostitution.
The European Commission Joint Research Center (JRC) has developed a new fast screening tool for the identification of new psychoactive substances. This field-deployable device will help customs identify new drugs not yet registered in their database. Samples can be measured through a packaging container, thereby reducing the risk of exposure to dangerous substances. Europol has…
Operation Orion, the Colombia-led multinational anti-narcotics operation has seized 94.2 tonnes of cocaine in its third phase, over a period of 105 days. The seizure is estimated around $3.2 billion. 26.7 tonnes or marijuana valued at $133.7 million were also seized. Orion is a joint naval operation involving 18 countries from Latin America, Europe and…
Uruguay, the first country to legalise recreational use of marijuana, becomes the first in Latin America to export it for medicinal purposes. Germany is set to be its first client. The United-Kingdom is currently dominating exports in medicinal marijuana. Americas Quarterly highlights the 3 measures Brazil should take to stem organised crime. First, build new…
According to a recent report published by the ENACT project, heroin use is booming in South Africa. Exploring how this trend could be hampered, the report emphasised the need for political and regionally coordinated responses. Honduras may be a new transit route for illicit drug flows, following the arrest of four Colombian citizens in Honduras attempting to…
The increase of cocaine production in Colombia has boosted the vulnerability of the Panamanian maritime transport industry. In 2018, the authorities of Colón arrested 330 people and seized 12 tonnes of cocaine, half of it in the port terminals. On the other side of the route, the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp have registered an…
On April 1, the Ecuadorian authorities detected an aircraft reportedly carrying drugs and making an unauthorized landing in the province of Manabí. Although the plane managed to escape, nine alleged drug traffickers were arrested and US $ 200,000, four firearms and several vehicles were seized. Despite the efforts of the authorities, the “narco-flights” remain a…
