News briefing, week beginning 22 September

200 kilograms of heroin, 1.3 tonnes of cannabis and 599 kilograms of cocaine were seized and 1150 people were arrested, following Operation Archimedes coordinated by Europol across Europe. Mexican drug cartels have begun trafficking cocaine directly from Southern America, displacing the Colombian middlemen. The European Union and the United Nations pledged their continued support for…

Operation Archimedes

On 23 September, EUROPOL successfully concluded Operation Archimedes, a nine-day counter-organised crime intervention that focused across Europe and into source countries. All 28 EU member states took part, with Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Australia, Colombia and the US also contributing. With 20,000 law enforcement officers involved, Archimedes was the largest joint operation held in the EU.…

News briefing – week beginning September 8th

The Global Commission on Drug Policy released a report stating that drug control is out of hand, calling for a shift towards decriminalisation and regulation of most illegal drugs, while cracking down on violent drug gangs. Following a three-year investigation in New Brunswick, Canada, 28 people were arrested, disrupting a major organised crime and drug…

News briefing – week beginning Monday 21 July

Kentucky senator proposes tougher US cocaine-sentencing laws UK government survey shows significant increase in domestic drug use over 10-year period •A Puerto Rico-based cocaine trafficking ring faced drug charges in the US • Bulgaria’s State Agency for National Security announced the dismantlement of a major heroin-trafficking group • In Los Angeles, a smuggler was sentenced…