Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime

Colombia is a country that has been racked by conflict for around 60 years - multiple armed groups and organized crime have waged war against each other and the state.In 2016, after nearly seven years of negotiations, the FARC demobilized, creating a power vacuum that other groups, such as the National Liberation Army (ELN), Clan del Golfo, and FARC dissidents, quickly filled. Despite the FARC's exit, violence persisted, with cocaine production and illegal mining continuing unabated, leaving many communities under the control of criminal organizations.In 2022, the President of Colombia Gustavo Petro brought forward new legislation, known as 'Total Peace'. This ambitious and wide ranging policy looks to negotiate with all criminal groups, whether they are politically minded, like the FARC were or organized crime. Why? To help reduce violence, in particularly homicides, but also to try a new approach to end these long-running conflicts.One of the key players in these negotiations was the ELN, the oldest guerrilla group in the world. The Petro administration expressed optimism, claiming a peace agreement could be reached within three months of taking office. However, over two years later, those talks have stalled and ultimately collapsed, raising questions about the future of peace efforts in Colombia.Speaker(s):Juanita Durán-Vélez, Lawyer, Crime and Justice Lab, Colombia.Kyle Johnson, Researcher & Academic Director of the Conflict Responses Foundation, Bogotá, ColombiaFelipe Botero Escobar, Head of Andean Regional Office, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized CrimeLinks:Andean Regional Office, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized CrimeGlobal Initiative against Transnational Organized CrimePodcast & Article - Clan del Golfo: The fall of 'Otoniel': How Colombia's biggest drug lord was taken down.The base research (Negotiating with Criminal Groups: Colombia´s Total Peace Policy) for this episode was initially developed and supported by Serious Organized Crime and Anticorruption Evidence research program.Additional...

In May 2024, a prison van was attacked at a highway toll in Normandy, France. In dramatic footage shared on social media, a black SUV, driving the wrong direction, rammed into the prison van just as it went through the barriers. Then gunmen, dressed head-to-toe in black and armed with Kalashnikov rifles got out and started shooting at the van, killing two prison officers.They opened the van and freed the prisoner, a man named Mohamed Amra, aka "The Fly", who escaped with the gunmen. There is now an Interpol Red Notice out for Amra.The attack took place in broad daylight and sheds light on the dramatic increase in gang violence over the last few years in France. Mohamed Amra had connections to the city that has been at the forefront of this violence, Marseille, on the Mediterranean coast.Speaker(s):Iris Oustinoff Leroux, YPN Coordinator and Analyst, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized CrimeLinks:(GI article) France in the crossfire: Prisoner escapes in Normandy amid rise in organized crime(GI Paper) Smoke on the horizon: Trends in arms trafficking from the conflict in Ukraine(GI Article) The Western Balkans is still the criminals’ choice for weapons.Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized CrimeGlobal Organized Crime IndexSenate Report FAIT au nom de la commission d’enquête (1) sur l’impact du narcotrafic en France et les mesures à prendre pour y remédier, Additional...

On the 1st May 2024, 711 migrants successfully crossed the Channel between France and the UK in small boats. This year is so far on track to see the highest number of crossings on record.This highly industrialised illicit industry estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of Euros, has seen the coast of northern France demarcated between competing gangs from a specific region of the Middle East, and who have a long history of smuggling. They control the entire length of the route, from beginning to end - targeting prospective migrants through social media, offering package deals, and advice on how to speak to authorities on arrival. Some migrants even use their own knowledge of the trip to become smugglers themselves.In this episode we take a look at the criminal groups behind the small boat crossings; how organised the logistics are; how much money they make and where it goes; and finally what this could mean for the future of other illicit economies in Western Europe.Speaker(s):Tuesday Reitano, Deputy Director of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, author of the book Migrant, Refugee, Smuggler, Saviour. Author of the report Small Boats, Big Business: The Industrialization of Cross-Channel Migrant Smuggling.Julien Goudichaud, documentary filmmaker who has been reporting on people smugglers who operate in Calais.Afshin Ismaeli, a journalist and war photographer from Norway.Links:(GI Paper) Small Boats, Big Business: The Industrialization of Cross-Channel Migrant Smuggling - available in English & French(Book) Migrant, Refugee, Smuggler, Saviour(GI Paper) The Human Conveyor Belt: Trends in human trafficking and smuggling in post-revolution Libya(GI Analysis) An increasing number of Albanians are crossing the English Channel from France using small boats(GI Analysis) Western Balkan criminal groups are important players in the NetherlandsAdditional...

LockBit, the world's largest ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) provider suffered a very public takedown by an international law enforcement task force, Operation Cronos.The ransomware behemoth quickly relaunched just days later. But in a world where trust is key, might the reputational damage be too great?This is the story of the rise of LockBit, its relationship with other infamous cybercriminal groups, its uneasy relationship with some affiliates, its curious leader LockBitsupp, the public takedown and the relaunch, and what this means for the future of ransomware-as-a-service.Speaker(s):Koryak Uzan, Co-founder & Managing Director of PRODAFTLinks:GITOC - The Rise and Fall of the Conti ransomware groupPRODAFT - LockBit: Behind the Lines of the Notorious RaaSPRODAFT - The Demise of LOCKBIT: Disrupting the Most Prominent Ransomware Gang by Utilizing Upstream Threat...

Russian organized crime has a mythology attached to it - the brutal tattooed men of the Vory v Zakone. But those days are long in the past, rapid globalisation saw a new type of organized criminal take the reins in the Russian underworld, spreading their influence as criminal facilitators across the world. But the war in Ukraine has changed that. It's changed the relationship between organized crime and the Russian state, the status quo within the established criminal order, the potential vacuum left by those criminals who fight and die in the conflict, the establishment of Russian criminal groups outside of the country, the flows of illicit goods themselves have evolved, and then Ukraine, once so critical to those illicit flows, is currently lost.Such is the uncertainty surrounding organized crime that there have been rumblings about a possible return to a dark period in Russian history, known as the 'Wild 90s' - a period of anarchy that is etched into the Russian psyche.Speaker(s):Mark Galeotti, the Executive Director of Mayak Intelligence, honorary professor at University College London, member of the GI Network. Author of ‘The Vory: Russia’s Super Mafia' and the GI-TOC paper: Time of Troubles: The Russian underworld since the Ukraine invasionLinks:(GI Paper) Rebellion as racket: Crime and the Donbas conflict 2014-2022(GI Paper) Evolving drug trends in wartime Ukraine(GI Analysis) The devil’s not-so-new psychoactive substance: Alpha-PVP, a highly addictive synthetic drug, is experiencing growing demand in Ukraine.(GI Paper) Crossroads: Kazakhstan's changing illicit drug economy(GI Paper) Port in a storm: Organized crime in Odesa since the Russian invasion(Podcast) “Death Can Wait”: Drugs on the Frontline in Ukraine Research Links:https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/10/23/russian-artist-fined-for-extremist-toy-doll-with-prison-tattoos-a82852https://tass.ru/obschestvo/9218777https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/08/17/russia-outlaws-childrens-criminal-underground-movement-a71178

At the start of the year masked gunman burst into a television studio in Guayaquil, Ecuador. The cameras were live and the entire event was broadcast. The video shows gang members shouting at staff, pushing them to the ground, threatening them with guns and explosives. These pictures subsequently travelled around the world.But this event was just one in a series to hit Ecuador in a short space of time. Car bombs, kidnappings, murder, prison riots, prominent prisoner escapes, and another national state of emergency. Criminal violence has washed over the country as competing gangs like Los Choneros and Los Lobos battle in prisons and on the streets over control of the lucrative cocaine trafficking business. Foreign organized criminal actors like the Mexican Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation Cartels, the Albanian Mafia, FARC dissident groups from Colombia, and others, are all active in Ecuador, a country described as a "cocaine superhighway".In the space of just five or so years, Ecuador has gone from one of the safest countries in Latin America to a country with one of the highest murder rates. In this episode we are going to talk about how this happened.Speaker(s):Felipe Botero Escobar, the Head of Andean Programmes at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized CrimeGI-TOC:(Paper) Organized crime declares war: The road to chaos in Ecuador(Blog) Fernando Villavicencio - Assassination Witness Project The Global Organized Crime Index - Ecuador Country Profile (Paper) Transnational Tentacles: Global Hotspots of Balkan Organized Crime(Podcast episode) The Index - Ecuador(Paper) The cocaine pipeline to EuropeAdditional...

'The King is dead, long live the King!'In September 2023, Ovidio Guzmán López, the son of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán, stood in a courtroom as a series of charges were laid out, including his alleged role as a leader of the Sinaloa Cartel.There is a long list of cartel and organized crime leaders over the past few decades who have been targeted through what become known as the 'Kingpin Strategy'. The strategy aims to weaken, destabilise, and destroy criminal groups through a variety of methods, but is not without critics.In this episode of Deep Dive: Monitoring, we look at the arrest of Ovidio, the history and impact of the Kingpin Strategy, how organized crime responds to a prominent criminal leader being removed, the so-called "Narco-Culture" that surrounds criminal actors, and the impact it has on the communities bearing the greatest impact of these criminal groups. Speaker:Siria Gastelum Felix, the Director of Resilience, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime - LinkGITOC:OC Index - MexicoOC Index - ColombiaClan del Golfo: The fall of 'Otoniel' - How Colombia's biggest drug lord was taken down.Mexico’s war with itself? ¿La guerra de México consigo mismo?Additional Reading:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cmlj7cFHlsAhttps://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/criminal-prosecution-drug-traffickers-under-continuing-criminal https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-66853111https://insightcrime.org/colombia-organized-crime-news/oficina-de-envigado-profile/https://insightcrime.org/colombia-organized-crime-news/auc-profile/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-66784678https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/20/colombias-coca-crops-grew-to-historic-levels-last-year-unhttps://museum.dea.gov/video-archive/kingpin-strategy-did-it-workhttps://justiceinmexico.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/OCVM-21.pdfhttps://data.worldbank.org/indicator/VC.IHR.PSRC.P5?locations=CO&most_recent_value_desc=true

“If you can do it without consequences, then you should do it”.What are illicit Financial Flows, or IFFs? And why do they matter? Every illicit market, from drug trafficking, people smuggling, the illegal wildlife trade, arms trafficking etc. all are connected to IFFs. IFFs are about the movement of money across borders that is illegal in some way.The money could be from a criminal act, like corruption or its money associated with the illicit markets above. Perhaps, it could be legitimately earned money that is transferred in a way that evades taxation, like being paid in cash and not declaring it or money is funnelled into complex corporate schemes and secrecy jurisdictions. Or perhaps its ultimate use is something like terrorist financing or funding organised criminal activity.Dirty money is a global problem, according to the IMF, it makes up between 2-5% (up to $5.25 trillion dollars) of global GDP. Given the scale of the problem, in this episode we will focus in on the Western Balkans in South-Eastern Europe through three IFFs - money laundering investigations in Kosovo, corruption and the role of the private sector in Albania, and tax evasion in Bosnia & Herzegovina.Speaker(s):Dardan Kocani, Field Coordinator for Kosovo for the South Eastern Europe Observatory at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized CrimeSokol Toska, Legal Auditor in Albania and expert in money laundering and illicit financial flows.Anesa Agovich, Field Coordinator for Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized CrimeLinks:Illicit financial flows in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia: Key drivers and current trendsIllicit Financial Flows in Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia: Key drivers and current trendsGlobal Initiative Against Transnational Organized CrimeGlobal Organized Crime IndexResearch Links: https://www.europol.europa.eu/cms/sites/default/files/documents/europol-review-2016.pdf https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-the-105-trillion-world-economy-in-one-chart/https://www.ibe.org.uk/resource/tax-avoidance-as-an-ethical-issue-for-business.htmlhttps://www.transparency.org/en/corruptionary/tax-evasion https://albaniandailynews.com/news/wanted-for-incinerators-affair-stela-gugallja-detained-in-austria...

In September 2023, there were four large cocaine seizures in and around the Atlantic Ocean - off the coast of Ireland, West Africa, Brazil, and Cape Verde. The flows of cocaine that traverse the Atlantic travel mainly by sea, from the huge bulk carriers to small fishing vessels or sailing boats. Much of this illicit drug ends in the cocaine markets of Europe.In this episode of Deep Dive: Monitoring, we briefly take a look at the seizures, what they mean for cocaine markets and the organized criminal networks involved. And do drug seizures make a dent in this multi-billion dollar industry? Speaker:Jason Eligh, Senior Expert, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime and Thematic Lead of the GI-TOC's Global Drug Program - LinkPapers:The cocaine pipeline to EuropeAtlantic connections: The PCC and the Brazil-West Africa cocaine tradeWest Africa's Cocaine Corridor: Building a subregional responseCocaine politics in West Africa: Guinea-Bissau's protection networksA powder storm: The cocaine markets of East and southern AfricaAdditional Reading:https://www.donegaldaily.com/2023/10/03/gardai-believe-e157m-drugs-gang-tried-to-buy-boat-in-killybegs/https://www.sundayworld.com/crime/cocaine-bust-trawler-remains-wedged-on-sandbank-off-wexford-coast/a295844397.htmlhttps://www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster/arid-41235682.htmlhttps://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:5058595/mmsi:250004351/imo:0/vessel:CASTLEMOREhttps://afloat.ie/safety/marine-warning/item/26428-marine-notice-aim-requirements-for-seagoing-passenger-shipshttps://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/2023/09/28/us-sanctions-colombian-cartel-leader-linked-to-157m-irish-cocaine-haul/https://www.policia.es/_es/comunicacion_prensa_detalle.php?ID=15905

Scam call centres are a blight on the lives of anyone unfortunate enough to have any dealings with them. They come to you with promises of a short cut to wealth, to fix a non-existent issue with your computer, claiming to be from a charity, threatening you with arrest for unpaid taxes.There are 70 million of these phone calls worldwide every day and they generate billions of dollars each year. Organized crime is very much a part of this industry from Mexico to India and from the Philippines to Ukraine. In this episode we delve into the hundreds, possibly thousands of scam call centres based in Ukraine, where investment scams are mainly targeting Russians.Links:Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized CrimePORT IN A STORM: Organized crime in Odesa since the Russian invasionNew front lines: Organized criminal economies in Ukraine in 2022Global Organized Crime IndexAdditional Reading:...

For over half a century armed groups in Colombia have battled one another and the state across the country. The FARC, ELN, AUC, AGC, and the infamous drug cartels, have committed untold atrocities on everyday Colombians. These groups use violence to control the local population and to assert territorial control over illicit drug production and trafficking routes.This episode is about the people who live in those areas, those that have suffered at the hands of armed groups and organized crime, and those who put themselves at risk to fight for a better future for their communities.Speaker(s):Felipe Botero Escobar, Head of Colombia Programmes, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized CrimeJoshua Mitrotti - Director of Somos Comunidad (Resilience Community). Somos Comunidad is backed by USAID, and implemented by FUPAD Colombia and the PADF, who work alongside GI-TOC. Through a series initiatives in rural communities affected by violence, Somos Comunidad is trying to enhance community resilience and contribute to human security.Community Leaders – Yolima, Yenis, Nancy, Luz, LuisInitiative Beneficiaries – Jamileth, Dana, Dayanis, Nicole, SofiaLinks:Somos ComunidadGlobal Initiative Against Transnational Organized CrimePADFResearch Links:https://www.eluniversal.com.co/sucesos/masacre-en-el-carmen-de-bolivar-mi-hijo-era-un-nino-venia-de-la-tienda-NF3447834https://aldianews.com/en/culture/destinations/worlds-first-soda-pophttps://www.semana.com/nacion/cartagena/articulo/golpe-a-la-delincuencia-caen-13-presuntos-integrantes-de-la-subestructura-heroes-del-caribe/202204/https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/former-leader-violent-clan-del-golfo-drug-trafficking-organization-pleads-guiltyhttps://data.worldbank.org/indicator/VC.IHR.PSRC.P5?locations=COhttps://colombiareports.com/assassinations-driving-increase-in-colombias-homicides-report/

For around two years the Conti ransomware group rampaged across the internet. They attacked hospitals, educational institutions, businesses, governments, and many more, raking in hundreds of millions of dollars in ransomware payments. Business was booming for the cybercriminals. At least it was until the Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Conti leadership quickly pledged their loyalty to Russia and then everything began to fall apart.This is the story of one of the most professional, prolific, and devastating organized cybercriminal groups in history.Speaker(s):Selena Larson – Senior Threat Intelligence Analyst and DISCARDED Podcast Co-host at Proofpoint - TwitterBerk Albayrak, Threat Intelligence Analyst within the PRODAFT Threat Intelligence team and expert on Wizard Spider - TwitterConor Gallagher – Crime and Security Correspondent of the Irish Times - TwitterAllan Liska, Threat Intelligence Analyst at Recorded Future and author of Ransomware: Understand. Precent. Recover. - TwitterJuan Ignacio Nicolossi, the team leader for the Threat Intelligence Team at PRODAFT.Zoë Brammer, Cyber & Information Operations Associate at the Institute for Security and Technology - Ransomware Ecosystem MapJake Moore, Global Cybersecurity Advisor for ESET.Artwork by Paulina Rosol-BarrassAdditional Reading:Reports/Papers:PRODAFT - Conti Ransomware Group In-Depth AnalysisPRODAFT - Wizard Spider In-Depth AnalysisGoogle - Fog of War: How the Ukraine Conflict Transformed the Cyber Threat LandscapeDISCARDED Podcast (Proofpoint) -

Throughout history soldiers have used drugs, sometimes to fight better or to stay alert, or perhaps to help cope with the extreme psychological situation and trauma they are faced with. The current conflict in Ukraine is no different. Concerns around this led to the Ukrainian parliament passing a new law that authorizes random drug and alcohol tests on soldiers. Organized crime is nothing if not adaptable, even in this most extreme environment. The soldiers fighting to protect their homeland represent a new and relatively wealthy market, ripe for criminal networks to exploit. And they are doing just that. So who is behind this market? This is a story about war, drugs, the darknet and corruption.Speaker(s):TedSashaAdditional Reading:(GI Paper) New front lines: Organized criminal economies in Ukraine in 2022Business Insider - Russian lawmakers baselessly claim their army is up against biologically modified Ukrainian super soldiersLiveScience - Nazis Dosed Soldiers with Performance-Boosting 'Superdrug'History - G.I.s’ Drug Use in Vietnam Soared—With Their Commanders’ HelpThe Atlantic - The Drugs That Built a Super SoldierJourneyman Pictures - Sierra Leone's Cocaine-Drugged Child SoldiersGlobal Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime - Lebanon’s role in Syria’s Captagon tradeWashington Post - Zelensky takes on Ukraine’s top internal enemyLegatum Institute - Looting Ukraine: The East, the West and the Corruption of a Country (Full Version)Transparency International - Corruption Perceptions IndexUS DoJ Press release - Justice Department Investigation Leads to Shutdown of Largest Online Darknet MarketplaceChainalysis - OFAC Sanctions Hydra Following Law Enforcement Shutdown of the Darknet Market, As Well As Russian Exchange GarantexNational Institute on Drug Abuse - Synthetic Cathinones ("Bath Salts") DrugFactsUNIAN.info - SBU busts major drug lab in Kyiv region in raid...

Part 2: "The truth will triumph".The description of Ahmed's murder showed that the killers were professionals, trained in the use of firearms. But despite the crowds that witnessed the killing, no one has ever been prosecuted for the crime.Since the assassination of Ahmed, press freedom in Ghana has suffered. He is one of a number that have been attacked, harassed and arrested over the last few years, sparking fears for the future of press freedom in the country.Much of the violence has been committed by state forces, either the police or the military, and yet impunity reigns and consequences are minimal.We will look at the organized crime landscape in Ghana, and how alongside the traditional illicit markets such as drug trafficking and illegal mining, organized crime is at the forefront of the commercialization of violence.Speaker(s):Anas Aremeyaw Anas – Multi-award winning Ghananian Investigative Journalist and founder of the TigerEye PI, an investigative organisation in Ghana – famous motto “name, shame and jail”.Muheeb Saeed, the program manager for Freedom of Expression at the Media Foundation for West Africa, the MFWA, which is a press freedom and media development organization based in Accra, but working across the West African sub-region.Gideon Ofosu-Peasah, Analyst at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime.Jonathan Rozen, Senior Africa researcher at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).Ana Paula Oliveira – Analyst and Manager of Assassination Witness Project, GITOC.Liliane MOUAN – Senior Advisor on Corruption and Human Rights – West and Central Africa for Amnesty International.Additional Reading:Assassination Witness ProjectAhmed Divela - Faces of AssassinationGlobal Assassination MonitorThe Ripple Effect: the impact of contract killings (Podcast)Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) - Four years since murder of Ahmed Hussein-Suale Divela, Ghana’s journalists still attacked with impunity.Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Freedom of the Press Index(GITOC Paper) The business of killing: Assassinations in South Africa(GITOC Paper) Killing in silence: New research uncovers sheer magnitude of assassinations linked to organized crimeMurder of journalists in Mexico a threat to democracy: El asesinato de periodistas en México pone en peligro la democracia(Deep Dive Podcast) Killing the Power of the Pen: Violence against journalists in Mexico - Part 1; Part 2.(Deep Dive Podcast)

Part 1: "Ahmed was no coward".On World Press Freedom Day (3rd May) 2018, the Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo, took to the stage in Accra to deliver a speech on press freedom. Ghana, had long been a beacon for press freedom and was selected to host the celebrations.Just a few weeks later, TigerEye PI, the world famous undercover investigative unit led by Anas Aremeyaw Anas released their latest investigation, Number 12, which looked at corruption in professional football.Around the same time, an MP, who disapproved of the methods of TigerEye PI, outed one of its undercover journalists, Ahmed Hussein-Suale Divela, live on air by showing his picture and calling for him to be attacked.A few months later Ahmed was shot and killed in a targeted assassination on the streets of Madina in Accra.In these two episodes we will tell the story of Ahmed, his death, what it means for press freedom in Ghana and how the commercialisation of violence is a perfect opportunity for organized crime. Speaker(s):Anas Aremeyaw Anas, Multi-award winning Ghanaian Investigative Journalist and founder of the TigerEye PI, an investigative organisation in Ghana – famous motto “name, shame and jail”.Jonathan Rozen, Senior Africa researcher at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)Additional Reading:Assassination Witness ProjectAhmed Divela - Faces of AssassinationGlobal Assassination MonitorThe Ripple Effect: the impact of contract killings (Podcast)Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) - Four years since murder of Ahmed Hussein-Suale Divela, Ghana’s journalists still attacked with impunity.Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Freedom of the Press Index(GITOC Paper) The business of killing: Assassinations in South Africa(GITOC Paper) Killing in silence: New research uncovers sheer magnitude of assassinations linked to organized crimeMurder of journalists in Mexico a threat to democracy: El asesinato de periodistas en México pone en peligro la democracia(Deep Dive Podcast) Killing the Power of the Pen: Violence against journalists in Mexico - Part 1; Part 2.(Deep Dive Podcast) Killing in Silence: The Global Assassination Monitor.(Deep Dive Podcast) Guinea-Bissau Part 2: Pau de Sangue (Blood Timber).Kennedy Agyapong Says He...

Part 2: “It’s the worst kept secret in Sudan”.In 2019, the Dossier Centre in London, shared some leaked internal documents from the private military company, the Wagner Group. The documents showed that Wagner had identified several countries they wanted to target for future operations. What was clear is that they often targeted countries with weakened autocratic government, seeking support against an internal threat.In this episode, we navigate the illicit gold trade in Sudan and beyond by studying a complex corporate web. How these structures are used to bypass sanctions and whether the US designation of the Wagner Group as a "Transnational Criminal Organization" adds anything to the fight.Speaker(s):Julia Stanyard, senior analyst at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime and author of the paper ‘The Grey Zone: Russia’s military, mercenary and criminal engagement in Africa’.Thierry Vircoulon, Research associate at the French Institute for International Affairs in Paris, member of the GI Network of Experts and a lead author of ‘The Grey Zone: Russia’s military, mercenary and criminal engagement in Africa’.Kholood Khair - the Founder and Director of Confluence Advisory, Khartoum.Ken Opala, the Field Network Coordinator for East and Southern Africa, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime.Mohanad Hashim, freelance Sudanese journalist, currently working at the BBC.Jason Blazakis, Professor and Director of the Center on Terrorism, Extremism and Counterterrorism at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.Justin Lynch, researcher, and author of Sudan’s Unfinished Democracy.Additional Reading:(GI Paper)The grey zone: Russia's military, mercenary and criminal engagement in Africa(GI Paper) Going for Gold: Russia, sanctions and illicit gold trade'If you desert, we'll execute you': 'Putin's chef' recruits convicts for war Yevgeny Prigozhin: UK reviews rules after Wagner head sued journalistUK exposes sick Russian troll factory plaguing social media with Kremlin propagandaFake news and public executions: Documents show a Russian company’s plan for quelling protests in SudanWagner chief admits to founding Russian troll farm sanctioned for meddling in US electionsUkraine capital Kyiv endures Russian onslaught - BBC NewsRussia is plundering gold in Sudan to boost Putin’s war effort in UkraineSudan TV broadcast taken off air after loud bangs during military clashes

Part 1: “Who are these guys and what are they doing here?”In late February 2022, Airport workers in Khartoum International Airport in Sudan are stood glued to television screens, watching Russian tanks entering the outskirts of Kyiv in Ukraine. But just outside on the runway, a Russian cargo plane laden with cookies was about to take off, heading to Latakia on the coast of Syria.Earlier that day, officials had inspected the aircraft, suspicious of the cargo manifest. It turned out they were right to be suspicious, because hidden under the cookies was gold. A ton of gold. But the military arrived and the plane was waived through.Gold is Sudan’s largest export, although 80% of that is thought to be smuggled out of the country. The industry has a number of players, including the Rapid Support Forces who are currently locked in battle with its rival the Sudanese Armed Forces . But there is also another active group that works alongside both these two forces and has its eyes firmly on Sudanese gold - the Wagner Group.Speaker(s):Kholood Khair - the Founder and Director of Confluence Advisory, Khartoum.Ken Opala, the Field Network Coordinator for East and Southern Africa, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime.Mohanad Hashim, freelance Sudanese journalist, currently working at the BBC.Justin Lynch, researcher, and author of Sudan’s Unfinished Democracy.Additional Reading:(GI Paper)The grey zone: Russia's military, mercenary and criminal engagement in Africa(GI Paper) Going for Gold: Russia, sanctions and illicit gold trade'If you desert, we'll execute you': 'Putin's chef' recruits convicts for war Yevgeny Prigozhin: UK reviews rules after Wagner head sued journalistUK exposes sick Russian troll factory plaguing social media with Kremlin propagandaFake news and public executions: Documents show a Russian company’s plan for quelling protests in SudanWagner chief admits to founding Russian troll farm sanctioned for meddling in US electionsUkraine capital Kyiv endures Russian onslaught - BBC NewsRussia is plundering gold in Sudan to boost Putin’s war effort in UkraineSudan TV broadcast taken off air after loud bangs during military clashesCNN - How Russia could be stealing over $13 billion of gold a year from SudanSudan fighting: RSF and...

Africa is often the forgotten continent for things like drug trafficking, but just look around the news, the African continent plays a critical role in the global illicit drug market – and its growing – And no more so than in East and Southern Africa. As global trade has exploded, African organized criminal networks have established relationships with other criminal organizations around the world from the PCC in Brazil to the Comancheros Bikie Gang in New Zealand. Over the course of a few years, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime have produced three papers covering the major illicit drug markets in the region - cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamime (crystal meth). These papers cover the movement and transiting of drugs but also the domestic markets - and the findings are that you find drugs everywhere, in coastal cities and rural villages.In this episode we talk about all three illicit drugs, the markets, those involved and the users themselves. Speaker(s):Jason Eligh, Senior Expert, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crimex2 Anonyomous researchers (Kenya, South Africa)Happy Assan, Drug Researcher, TanzaniaAdditional Reading:(GI Paper) A Synthetic Age: The Evolution of Methamphetamine Markets in Eastern and Southern Africa - Link(GI Paper) A Powder Storm: The cocaine markets of East and southern Africa - Link(GI Paper) A Shallow Flood: The Diffusion of Heroin in Eastern and Southern Africa - Link(Website) Drug Markets in Eastern and Southern Africa - LinkNews Articles:Record Bust For Mozambique Bound Drugs - LinkMozambican arrested in Brazil with 5 kg of cocaine hidden in ‘7-day candles’ - LinkBBC News - Fuminho: One of Brazil's most wanted criminals arrested in Mozambique - LinkInsight Crime - Cocaine Trade Grows in East and Southern Africa - LinkInsight Crime - Marcos Willians Herbas Camacho, alias ‘Marcola’ - LinkNational commander of Comancheros jailed for conspiring to import 600kg of meth - LinkNZ Herald - Comancheros meth trial: Gang leader Seiana Fakaosilea, co-defendants sentenced - LinkSunStar - CUSTOMS CLARK SEIZES P11.27M WORTH OF METH -

What does the term 'Environmental Crime' mean to you? Probably something like elephant or rhino poaching. Perhaps the plight of the pangolin, the adorable little armoured mammal, often sighted as the "most trafficked animal in the world". But it is so much more than that - from the illegal wildlife trade to illicit plastic waste, and from illegal mining to timber trafficking.The spotlight on environmental crime has never been more prominent, public consciousness around climate change has seen to that. Indeed, environmental crime was implicated in early theories surrounding the origin of COVID-19.And so, in this episode we'll show you the breadth of research taking place here at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. Through the story of our global responses to environmental crime we'll show just how integrated different illicit markets are with one another.(This podcast is based around the paper ‘An analytic review of past responses to ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME and programming recommendations’)Speaker(s):Simone Haysom, Thematic Lead on Environmental Crime, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized CrimeFarai Maguwu, Director at the Center for Natural Resource Governance in Zimbabwe and member of the GI Network of ExpertsVincent Opyene, a state-prosecutor in Uganda, specialising in wildlife crimes and founder of the Natural Resource Conservation Network.Karla Mendes, Investigative Journalist at Mongabay, a non-profit environmental science and conversation news platform.Peter Wagner, Director of the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments at the European Commission.Natalie Pauwels, the Head of Unit, Stability and Peace - Global and Trans regional Threats at the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments at the European Commission.Ana Paula Oliveira, Analyst at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime and presenter of The Ripple Effect podcast, part of the Assassination Witness Project. Lucia Bird, Director of the West African Observatory, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized CrimeVirginia Comolli, Senior Expert, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized CrimeJason Eligh, Senior Expert, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized CrimeAdditional Reading:(GI Paper) An analytic review of past responses to ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME and programming recommendations - Link(GI Paper) A Synthetic Age: The Evolution of Methamphetamine Markets in Eastern and Southern Africa - Link(GI Paper) Deep-rooted interests: Licensing illicit logging in Guinea Bissau - Link(GI Paper) Plastic for profit: Tracing illicit plastic waste flows, supply chains and actors - Link(GI Paper) Branches of Illegality: Cambodia's illegal logging structures - Link(GI Paper) Vietnam's virtual landscape for illicit wildlife trading: A snapshot of e-commerce and social media - Link(GI Paper) Civil Society Observatory of Illicit Economies in Eastern and Southern Africa Risk Bulletin - Issue 25 - Kromah Cartel -

P4 - 'Ndrangheta - "The Cocaine Gateway"The port of Gioia Tauro in Calabria has long been considered one of the main cocaine gateways into Europe. In this episode we're going to tell the story of the 'ndrangheta and this port. How its completion in the 1990s coincided with the rise of the 'ndrangheta, were certain clans control this important node of the international cocaine market.Our guest Anna Sergi takes us from a 'faida' ('ndrangheta feud) from her childhood in Gioia Tauro to the growth of the Piromalli 'ndrina. And from the "mother of all extortion" to the international expansion of the 'ndrangheta. Speaker(s):Anna Sergi, Professor of Criminology at the University of Essex, member of the GI Network of Experts and author of the new book ‘Chasing the Mafia: 'Ndrangheta, Memories and Journeys'.TwitterAdditional Reading(Book) Chasing the Mafia: 'Ndrangheta, Memories and Journeys by Anna Sergi(Podcast) Clan del Golfo: The Fall of Otoniel(Paper) - Transnational Tentacles: Global Hotspots of Balkan Organized Crime(Book) Ports, Crime and Security: Governing and Policing Seaports in a Changing World by Anna Sergi, Alexandria Reid, Luca Storti, Marleen Easton.(Podcast) The Index - episode 3 & 4 "Italy and mafia" - https://link.chtbl.com/TheIndex The Global Organized Crime Index - Country Profile - Italy OCCRP - Sting Operation Reveals ‘Ndrangheta-Colombian Cartel PartnershipEuropol - Italian operation takes down corrupt port workers facilitating ‘Ndrangheta drug trafficking activitiesEuropol YouTube - Operation TRE CROCICentre for Industrial Studies - THE PORT OF GIOIA TAUROGlobal Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime