News briefing week of 02 August

02/08 Dominican gangs have become Spain’s primary urban security threat. On July 23, Spanish authorities announced the arrest of seven members of the Dominicans Don’t Play (DDP) street gang and the dismantling of a local chapter that operated in the Henares corridor of the greater Madrid area. 03/08 Colombia announces seizure of 116 tons of…

News briefing week of 26 July

28/07 Paraguay seizes more than 3,400 kilos of cocaine. Authorities say the cocaine was being stashed in a load of sugar for international shipment. The destination is for the moment unknown. 28/07 Over 4,500 kilos of cocaine were seized in the Rotterdam port in two different fruit shipments. Customs officials found over 1,500 kilograms of…

Double Anniversary: 20 years of the Firearms Protocol and the Programme of Action on small arms

The Firearms Protocol and the Programme of Action on small arms turn 20 this year. On the 26th of July 2021, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) held a joint high-level side event on the continued importance of the two instruments. Esteemed experts,…

News briefing week of 19 July

22/07 Spain and Serbia dismantle Serbian marijuana trafficking network. 43 members of a Serbian organised crime group have been arrested for their involvement in producing and distributing marijuana and hashish. 22/07 350 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a coffee bean shipment from Guatemala were seized by the Greek police at the port of Piraeus. The…

The Seaport Cooperation Project (SEACOP) kicks off fifth phase

The trafficking of illicit goods -including drugs- is an international phenomenon with a devastating impact on social and economic development as well as on public health. The transatlantic axis, which stretches from Latin America via the Caribbean and West Africa to Europe, is a major route for these illicit flows. Orchestrated by transnational criminal groups…

News briefing week of 12 July

13/07 Cocaine worth $15 million was seized in Puerto Rico, two men arrested, following the interdiction of a go-fast vessel in Mona Passage waters near Mona Island, Puerto Rico. The interdiction resulted from multi-agency efforts in support of U.S. Southern Command’s enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere and coordination with the Caribbean Corridor Strike…

News briefing week of 5 July

06/07 315kg of heroin bound for Australia were seized in Thailand. While still of unclear origin, $29 million worth of heroin were seized in the biggest Thai Customs seizure this year. The seizure comes amid concerns that production may surge in neighboring Myanmar, the region’s main supplier of illicit drugs, because of severe instability following…