The World Health Organization (WHO) has suggested the reclassification of cannabis as Schedule 1 of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. At least half of the 53 members of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs will have to ratify the proposed amendments, for the proposition to be accepted. However, many of these countries prohibit the use…
In 2018, the port of Rotterdam reached a peak in cocaine seizure with 19 tonnes. Of these, 4 tonnes were secured in December only. Most of the loads seized come from South America. On Tuesday, the UN Security Council discussed the pressing issue of transnational maritime crime. At this occasion the UNODC director highlighted the…
On January 28, a workshop on Trafficking in Persons was held in Abuja, Nigeria. At this occasion, the Labour Migration Expert of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) discussed Alliance 8.7, a global network established in partnership with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) with the aim of reducing child labour…
Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN) claimed responsibility for the car bomb attack which killed over 20 members of the Santander National Police Academy. Colombian president Ivan Duque promised to bring the perpetrators, deemed as terrorists, to justice. On January 23, the president of the National Assembly, Juan Guaidó declared himself as interim president of Venezuela,…
The authorities of Trinidad and Tobago are considering the legalisation of cannabis. In late December, the government announced that the drug will be decriminalised in May or June 2019. To this, some groups of the society responded that only legal cultivation could prevent the violence linked to organised crime. In Colombia, criminal groups are taking…
SEACOP officers and partners from Latin America, Africa and the Caribbean met in Natal, Brazil on November 27, 28 and 29. It was the first time that professionals from the Maritime Intelligence Units (MIU) had exchanged experience and good practice at a trans-regional level. During the workshop, the participants reviewed recent MIU led cases involving…
The main findings of the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2018 were discussed by the Executive Director of the UNODC and the Member States in Vienna on January 7, 2019. On January 7, the UN Secretary General met with the Guatemalan Foreign Minister at the UN headquarters in NY and he firmly rejected Guatemala’s…
In Costa Rica, 2018 ended with a seizure of nearly a tonne of cocaine at sea. The operation was conducted by the Costa Rican Coast Guard Service in the South Pacific area of the country, close to the Panamanian border. This brings the total seizures for 2018 to 33.5 tonnes. Jair Bolsonaro, who began his…
In Guatemala, an investigation shows the links between an influential pastor and a high-profile drug-trafficker to support the construction of a church. The concerned pastor and church denied the accusations. A legal expert suggests that Kenya include the Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) in the country’s criminal law. In other countries, the UWO has had some…
After numerous seizures during the month of November, the Venezuelan authorities reported an increase in drug flows coming from Colombia through the country’s coastal state of Anzoátegui. It seems that the region is also the centre of an air-trafficking network, sending drugs to the Caribbean, Honduras and Mexico. The dismantling of a network of ketamine…
