Ukraine (9/10) and Russia (8.5/10), alongside the former Soviet states of Moldova and Belarus, have some of the highest scores for arms trafficking in the Global Organized Crime Index.

This is due to the significant levels of weapons and ammunition left over at the end of the Soviet period.

In addition to the high levels of arms trafficking across this part of Europe, Central and Eastern Europe has the highest scores for state-embedded actors on the European continent (Russia, 8.5/10; Ukraine, 8/10).

Since Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Western nations have sent weapons to Ukraine to aid in its struggle, but there are concerns that these weapons could leak out into the illicit markets of Europe and end up in the hands of organized crime.

Currently there is no evidence of this, the Ukrainian government has put in strict measures to prevent this from happening.

In this episode, we look at the war in Ukraine, and arms trafficking.

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Speakers: Daniel Brombacher, Director of the Europe Observatory, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Links:

(Paper) Smoke on the Horizon: Trends in arms trafficking from the conflict in Ukraine

OC Index Country profiles:

Ukraine Country Profile

Russia Country Profile

Moldova Country Profile

Belarus Country Profile

The Global Organized Crime Index

GITOC - The Observatory of Illicit Markets and the Conflict in Ukraine (UKR-Obs)

GITOC - The Observatory of Organized Crime in Europe (EUR-Obs)

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

The Netherlands is an important global trading hub, with Rotterdam being one of the worlds largest container ports in the world. The country's high quality infrastructure and the well known liberal approach to drugs makes the Netherlands attractive to organized criminal groups. And those originating in the Western Balkans have long been active in the Netherlands.

According to the Global Organized Crime Index, the Netherlands has high levels of foreign criminal actors with 6 out of 10 - an increase of 1.50 in just two years – only Bangladesh and Afghanistan have seen larger increases.

Alongside that, the levels of cocaine and synthetic drugs are extremely high - for cocaine the Netherlands sits 21st globally with 7.5 out of 10, and for synthetic drugs it’s even higher at 8 out of 10 – which is 15th globally.

In today’s episode we’ll look at the impact of organized criminal groups from the Western Balkans on the Netherlands, and their involvement in the illicit drugs trade.

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Speakers:

Ingrid Gercama, Investigative Journalist writing about the environment, politics, and conflict, mostly from the Balkans and Africa.

Links:

Article - Western Balkan criminal groups are important players in the Netherlands.

SEE-Obs - Risk Bulletin #18

Paper - Transnational Tentacles: Global Hotspots of Balkan Organized Crime

Paper - The cocaine pipeline to Europe

OC Index Country profiles:

Netherlands country profile

Albania country profile

Montenegro country profile

Serbia country profile

Bosnia & Herzegovina country profile

North Macedonia country profile

The Global Organized Crime Index

GITOC - South-Eastern Europe Observatory (SEE-Obs)

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

The largely unregulated taxi industry in South Africa has long been associated with violence., as taxi associations clash with one another over control of lucrative routes. Taxi-related violence ranges from shoot-out at taxi ranks to targeted hits on influential players in the industry, often sparking retaliatory killings, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of taxi operators and innocent bystanders.

According to the Global Organized Crime Index, mafia-style groups such as those operating in the taxi industry, are a prevalent criminal actor in South Africa - with a score of 7.5 out of 10, placing the country 5th out of 54 on the African continent.

South Africa also sits 6th in the world for extortion and protection racketeering, and the mafia-like taxi associations are major contributors to that, as they extort their drivers and attack rival modes of transport.

Overall, South Africa’s criminality score is very high at 7.18 out of 10, placing it 7th out of 193 countries.

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Speakers:

Rumbidzai Matamba, Analyst, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

Links:

The business of killing: Assassinations in South Africa

The Shadow Economy: Uncovering Cape Town's Extortion Networks

The politics of murder: Criminal governance and targeted killings in South Africa

OC Index Country profiles:

South Africa country profile

The Global Organized Crime Index

GITOC - The Observatory of Illicit Economies in East and Southern Africa (ESA-Obs)

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime