- The son of former Honduran President Porfirio Lobo was sentenced to 24 years in prison on drug charges. He is accused of having used his position to smuggle cocaine and sell it in the United States.
- Cocaine kingpin Rocco Morabito, one of Italy’s most wanted fugitives, was arrested in Montevideo, Uruguay, after 23 years on the run from convictions for mafia association, drug trafficking and other serious crimes. He is a member of the Calabrian Ndrangheta, Italy’s most powerful organised crime group and one of Europe’s biggest importers of South American cocaine.
- Brazilian police dismantled a drug trafficking ring using Sao Paulo and the port of Santos as transit hubs for the smuggling of drugs produced in Latin America to Europe. The criminal organisation attempted to smuggle more than 6 tons of cocaine to Europe over the past year.
- According to the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), wildlife crime is listed as fourth on the list of the most lucrative forms of organised crime globally and one of the most expensive security challenges facing Southern Africa. More than 1.000 wildlife crimes were recorded between 2000 and 2016, mainly in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
- The FARC delivered an inventory of more than $330 million worth of guerrilla-owned assets to the Colombian government as part of the peace agreement with the Colombian state.
- A new police task was created in Cape Town, South Africa, to address priority crimes and tackle gangs of robbers targeting businesses. A first arrest was carried out.
