08/11 Gold, diamonds and drugs: Portuguese peacekeepers suspected of smuggling. Portuguese police have clamped down on a crime ring that allegedly involved the country’s U.N. peacekeepers in the Central African Republic (CAR) using military planes to smuggle gold, diamonds and drugs, authorities said on Monday. According to Portuguese police, the “criminal network” had international links and allegedly smuggled the illicit materials to then launder the money.
08/11 Trafficking of plastic waste is on the rise and criminal groups are profiting, report says. Building on a previous investigation by Interpol, the new report maps the web of brokers, middlemen, legitimate recycling companies and organized crime groups that move millions of tons of discarded plastic from the United States, Europe and Australia to countries in Southeast Asia and Africa.
09/11 Government agencies are working to stem smuggling and the flow of contraband on the porous Kenya-Tanzania border in the Coast region. This follows reports that the trafficking of these goods from Tanzania continues through illegal routes so that smugglers can evade taxes.
09/11 Combating transnational crimes in focus at global forum in Egypt. An agreement was signed between the Arab and African Public Prosecutions Associations.
10/11 Authorities use elephant DNA to bust multimillion dollar trafficking scheme. Authorities in the United States and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) used elephant DNA to bust a multimillion-dollar animal trafficking scheme, CNN reported on Wednesday. The arrest of two men last week in Edmonds, Wash., led to the seizure of more than a ton of illegal elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn, popular goods in the international illegal wildlife trafficking market, according to a release from the Department of Justice.
11/11 Buhari: Nigeria will work with France to dismantle transnational criminal networks. President Muhammadu Buhari says he is committed to working with France to clamp down on international criminal networks operating in Africa and Europe.
11/11 Over 150 arrests made in 3-day operation against organised property crime. The latest actions under Operation Trivium, a multi-country operation against organized property crime on Europe’s road networks, has resulted in 174 arrests and the seizure of goods throughout Europe. The three-day operation saw law enforcement from 17 countries carrying out roadside checks on people and vehicles, as well as searching premises. Europol supported the operation by sharing information on the subjects, vehicles and modus operandi behind the criminal groups in real-time.
11/11 Azerbaijan has thwarted an attempt to smuggle over 622 kg of heroin across the country’s customs border. According to operational information, a truck, sent by an Iranian citizen, transporting raisins to Moldova through the Azerbaijani territory, was detained at the Astara customs checkpoint. Another truck, transporting pistachios and dates from Azerbaijan to Moldova, was detained at the Samur customs checkpoint.
11/11 IOCTA 2021 unveils the most recent cyber threat (r)evolutions. The exceptional COVID-19 crisis has fuelled the increase of cybercrime in all its forms, while grey infrastructure serves to facilitate the proliferation of crime.
14/11 Cocaine haul ‘worth €38 million found in onion rings shipment. Man appears in British court after drugs seized in UK inbound zone in Coquelles, France.
14/11 Nigeria’s NDLEA intercepts 16.85kg cocaine, heroin consignments at Lagos seaport, airport. Four persons are currently being investigated for the 13.65kg cocaine seized onboard a ship, MV Karteria that came into the Apapa port from Santos, Brazil on Sunday, November 7, 2021.
