News Briefing – Week of 5 October

05/10/2020 – The Spanish Police arrested 14 members of the clan “los Kikos” in an operation codenamed ‘Maiz’. The clan was allegedly controlling illicit trafficking activities and the local drugs trade in Cañada Real, a poor area in Madrid. The operation saw the seizure of 18 firearms, ammunition, cash as well as heroin and cocaine. Within the…

News Briefing – Week of 28 September

29/09/2020 – The 2020 report on economic development in Africa estimates that $89 billion per year is lost due to illicit financial flows. The UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa KITUYI emphasised the fact that “Illicit financial flows rob Africa and its people of their prospects, undermining transparency and accountability and eroding trust in African institutions”. 29/09/2020 – A former Belgian…

Successful launch of the CRIMJUST-led webinar series promoting the incorporation of gender-considerations into drug policies and responses

On 23 September 2020, the CRIMJUST project ran a webinar on “Victims and participants: Women along the drug supply chain, experiences from Colombia”. The event brought together more than 100 participants from Latin America and the Caribbean. Three future webinars will be organised on the same topic. They will, in particular highlight femicides within organised…

News Briefing – Week of 21 September

21/09/2020 – Peruvian authorities destroyed two illegal laboratories that were discovered manufacturing cocaine in Cusco.   21/09/2020 – The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists reveals that several banking institutions have been managing the dirty money of alleged criminals for years. The volume of funds involved could represent as much as $2 trillion between 1999 and 2017. This journalistic investigation,…

News Briefing – Week of 14 September

15/09/2020 – A former DEA agent who was active in Colombia and was facing corruption charges in the US has pleaded guilty. 17/09/2020 – The Albanian-speaking cocaine trafficking organisation “Kompania Bello” was taken down in an international operation named “Los Blancos”. The operation was supported by EUROJUST and EUROPOL. On 15 September 2020, simultaneous raid in several…

News Briefing – Week of 17 August

18/08/2020 – 600kg of cocaine were seized in Rotterdam. The drugs were hidden in a containerised chemical shipment from Brazil. 19/08/2020 – Brazilian authorities dismantled a large drug trafficking ring during an operation mobilising about 600 officers in 13 regions. During this operation, seven aeroplanes and five helicopters as well as other assets linked to the network were confiscated.  21/07/2020 –…

News Briefing – Week of 20 July

20/07/2020 – Mexico’s Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection and EUROPOL concluded a formal Working Arrangement to expand their collaboration on security matters. 21/07/2020 – Costa Rican and Honduran authorities seized almost three tonnes of cocaine. Costa Rican authorities seized two tonnes in national waters on board a ship in collaboration with US and Colombian authorities whilst Honduras intercepted a…

News briefing – Week of 13 July

14/07/2020 – The former Surinamese minister of Justice, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, has been elected president of Suriname. 13/07/2020 – Guinea has issued an arrest warrant against a Guinean citizen residing in Germany who is allegedly involved in the forging of visas. Guinean customs had previously seized 7300 stamped visas in a truck that had traveled from Germany. 14/07/2020…

News Briefing – Week of 29 June

29/06/2020 – A joint investigation between Spanish and Italian law enforcement enabled the dismantlement of an organised crime group trafficking waste from the canary islands to Africa. It is estimated that the organised crime group trafficked around 250 tonnes of hazardous waste. 29/06/2020 – Greek authorities arrested two suspected traffickers after the discovery of 11kg of heroin…

News Briefing – Week of 13 April

700 kg of cocaine was seized at the Yokohama seaport in Japan in March 2020. The drugs were hidden in a container transporting boxes of bananas. According to the Japanese authorities, the drugs more than likely arrived by mistake as a result of traffickers not being able to unload at ports prior to Yokohama.    Over 1600…