30/08 – Tobacco products and cigarette manufacturing equipment seized in international action. An action day in Belgium has led to the seizure of over 57 million cigarettes and more than 48 tons of cut tobacco. Organised by Belgian Customs (Algemene Administratie van Douane en Accijnzen/Administration Générale des Douanes et Accises) and carried out based on close international cooperation and support from Europol, the joint effort prevented the circulation of tobacco products with a total tax value of more than EUR 32 million.
31/08 – Venezuela, Hub of Regional Organized Crime. Narcotrafficking operations, gold and gasoline smuggling, and corruption in Venezuela’s ports and customs have increased in recent years as the South American country became a hub of organized crime in the region. These were some of the findings of a study by the Venezuelan branch of nongovernmental organization Transparency International, which states that these activities bring in more than $9.4 billion annually to criminal organizations who have the support of corrupt officials.
01/09 – Asia’s Human Traffickers Target New Victims. A spate of human trafficking cases has rattled the cosmopolitan financial hub of Hong Kong. Since January, city authorities have received appeals for help from at least 43 Hongkongers kidnapped and forced to do illegal work in Southeast Asia. Of those, 23 have returned safely, while 12 others are still being held in Cambodia and three more in Myanmar.
01/09 – U.S. Ship Seizes Illegal Narcotics in Gulf of Oman. A U.S. Coast Guard fast response cutter interdicted a fishing vessel smuggling illegal drugs worth an estimated U.S. street value of $20 million while patrolling the Gulf of Oman, Aug. 30. USCGC Glen Harris (WPC 1144) seized 2,980 kilograms of hashish and 320 kilograms of amphetamine tablets during operations in support of Combined Task Force (CTF) 150.
02/09 – Libyan cease-fire could renew arms trafficking across borders. A decade after it was declared a supermarket for illegal arms traffickers, Libya once again has become a source of illegal weapons flowing into conflicts across the Sahel and neighboring coastal states. “The high demand for arms and ammunition has given traffickers an opportunity to continue their lucrative trade,” researcher Hassane Koné wrote in a recent analysis for the Institute for Security Studies.
02/09 – Price Differences Keep Peru’s Coca Flowing Illegally Into Bolivia. Cheap coca leaves and cocaine paste from Peru are flooding into neighboring Bolivia due to a longstanding price imbalance between the two countries. As Peru’s cultivation rises alongside Bolivian cocaine production, this relationship seems cemented in place.
