News briefing – week beginning 17 November

Cocaine valued at £5 million was seized from a light aircraft at an East Yorkshire airfield in the UK, following joint operations by members of the NCA and Border Force. Many Mexaican citizens believe that the 43 missing and possibly dead students in Iguala reveal the increasing connection between corruption and violence which indicate failures…

The Rise of Opium-poppy Cultivation in Afghanistan

Afghanistan poppy cultivation is estimated to have hit an all-time high despite the international counter-narcotics efforts. The US has spent an estimated USD $7.5bn in an attempt to curb the phenomenon. At present, opium-poppy is being cultivated on 209,000 hectares (516,230 acres) of land in Afghanistan, indicating a 36% increase from 2012. A report released…

A Shift in the Drug Policy Debate

The US led ‘war on drugs’ initiated in 1971, by then President Richard Nixon still informs the American approach to drug control. Given the global, widespread and complex nature of the problem, many other actors have come to realise that there are alternative ways of dealing with drugs in society, incorporating different strands including harm…

News briefing – week beginning 20 October

UNODC is expected to collaborate with Fiji in its efforts against drug trafficking, corruption and terrorism as the Pacific region is considered vulnerable to transnational organised crime The alleged leader of Portsmouth drug trafficking organisation, Antwan Black, has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison; disrupting drug supply in the region Detectives from the…

News briefing – week beginning 13 October

Dominican Republican authorities arrested seven people including an intelligence officer and seized RD$3 million in connection with a drug trafficking case. Bolivia is allegedly becoming the new drug trafficking hub in South America. Several Paraguayan politicians are reportedly linked to drug-trafficking cases, mafias and assassinations. Portuguese authorities arrested two Ukrainians and seized 600 kilograms of cocaine…