17/01 NDLEA intercepts cocaine, cannabis, 1.5m tramadol tablets, others in nationwide raids. The NDLEA spokesman also said the same day, 425,000 Diazepam tablets were recovered at Segemu, Kano. He said in the past week, N1,413,344 was seized along with arms and ammunition from a suspected bandit and a drug kingpin in Plateau State while over 137.754 kilos of assorted illicit drugs were recovered during interdiction operations across seven states.
18/01 The Public Prosecutor’s Office of Mozambique announced on 17 January that it has uncovered a racket whereby customs exemptions worth US$18.6 million were illicitly issued to import goods supposedly for the benefit of people displaced from their homes by terrorist raids in the northern province of Cabo Delgado. Key to the scheme was a customs clearance agent who submitted requests for exemption from customs duties for the import of second-hand clothes and printed fabrics that would be donated to the victims of terrorism.
19/01 Millions of euros generated from corruption, tax evasion, and organised crime are moving through Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia every year, a new report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, GI-TOC, says. The NGO’s report, “Illicit financial flows in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia: Key drivers and current trends”, notes three main components of illicit financial flows: corruption, tax evasion and avoidance and illegal markets and exploitation. The report focuses on three case studies for each country.
22/01 Fishing boat seized north of Canary Islands transporting 560 kilos of cocaine. The vessel was flying the flag of Brazil, and subsequently found to be transporting cocaine, with a street value of an estimated €30 million.
