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

In March this year, gangs of armed men on motorcycles descended on a school in north-western state of Kaduna in Nigeria, kidnapping over 280 children. In the same week a similar mass kidnapping took place in the north-eastern state of Borno.

Over the past few years, kidnappings have been a real issue in Nigeria, but have recently been in decline.

So, who is behind these kidnappings? And why are they targeting these communities?

Kidnappings have contributed to the rise in extortion and protection racketeering in Nigeria, according to the Global Organized Crime Index, it is the highest in West Africa at 8/10.

Overall, Nigeria has very high levels of criminality - on the African continent it sits 2nd and 6th globally, with a score of 7.28 out of 10.

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Speakers:

Kingsley L. Madueke, Nigeria Research Coordinator, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Lawan Danjuma Adamu, Northern Nigeria Field Coordinator, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

Links:

https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/mass-abductions-kidnappings-nigeria/

https://riskbulletins.globalinitiative.net/wea-obs-005/01-armed-bandits-extort-crop-farmers.html

https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/non-state-armed-groups-illicit-economies-west-africa/

OC Index Country profiles:

Nigeria Country Profile

The Global Organized Crime Index

GITOC - West Africa and the Sahel Observatory (WEA-Obs)

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Brazil has long had a problem with mafia-style groups, according to the Global Organized Crime Index, with 8 out of 10, that places the country 3rd in South America.

One such group are the so-called militias, made up of former and serving members of military police or law enforcement. The militias groups have sought to profit from the housing market , with many residents facing the threat of violence, and even expulsion from their homes. Alongside this, militias have seeped into other markets, controlling access to utilities such as water, electricity and internet connectivity.

According to the Global Organized Crime Index, levels of extortion and protection racketeering are high, at 7 out of 10. These numbers contribute to the high overall criminality score for Brazil at 6.77 out of 10, placing them 22nd globally.

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Speakers:

Antonio Sampaio, Thematic Lead on Cities & Illicit Economies at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime.

Nicholas Pope, Research fellow in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London

Links:

Coercive brokers: Militias and urban governance in Rio de Janeiro

OC Index Country profiles:

Brazil Country Profile

The Global Organized Crime Index

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Montenegrin organized crime groups have risen through the criminal underworld to become key components of the global cocaine trade. From Latin America to global shipping, and from ports to European markets, they control the entire chain.

But with such a lucrative trade comes violence. Over the last decade, several dozen Montenegrins and Serbians have been killed across Europe in a bloody feud between two criminal groups - the Škaljari clan and the Kavač Clan, both originating from the small Adriatic town of Kotor.

According to the Global Organized Crime Index, Montenegro ranks 5th in terms of criminality out of 44 countries in Europe, with the cocaine trade being it’s most prevalent criminal market at a score of 7 out of 10.

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Speakers:

Marko Vešović, Journalist & Editor of the daily newspaper DAN Montenegro, and member of the GI Network.

Links:

(GI Video) Montenegro's Cocaine War: Rival Clans, Illicit Markets, and Assassinations

(GI Paper) Spot Prices: Analyzing flows of people, drugs and money in the Western Balkans

(GI Paper) The cocaine pipeline to Europe

Škaljari clan

Kavač Clan

OC Index Country profiles:

Montenegro

The Global Organized Crime Index

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

The gold mining sector in West Africa has increased significantly in recent years. But this is also a region bereft by political instability following several recent coups, extremist groups, foreign criminal actors and organized crime networks all operate here, artisanal and small-scale miners are often targeted by such groups.

According to the Global Organized Crime Index, there are high levels of criminality across the region in non-renewable resource crimes, the category which illegal gold mining falls under. Burkina Faso reaches 8.5 out of 10; Mali, 8 out of 10.

Whereas Resilience levels across the region are low, but particularly in Mali, at just 2.38 out of 10.

In this episode Thin will discuss the differences between informal and illegal gold mining, and the role criminal groups play in exploiting miners across West Africa, and the possibility of formalising the informal gold mining sector.

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Speakers:

Gideon Ofosu-Peasah, Analyst, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Marcena Hunter, Thematic Lead on Extractives and Illicit Flows, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Links:

(GI Paper) Learnings from West Africa’s regional experiences in the gold sector

OC Index Country profiles:

Mali

Burkina Faso

Ghana

Guinea

The Global Organized Crime Index

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Papua New Guinea, the island nation in Oceania, is rich in biodiversity. But the rainforests that cover the country are also sought after by logging companies, sometimes illegally. PNG is the largest exporter of timber to China, where it is then distributed around the world.

There are a number of criminal markets that are particularly prevalent in PNG - financial crimes, human trafficking, non-renewable resource crime. But in this episode, we will focus on illegal logging, because Papua New Guinea sits second globally for flora crimes at 8.5 out of 10.

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Guest: Eddie Tanago Paine from ACT NOW! For A Better Papua New Guinea

Links:

OC Index - Papua New Guinea country profile.

The Global Organized Crime Index

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Additional Links:

Mongabay - Logging, road construction continue to fuel forest loss in Papua New Guinea

The Guardian - From a forest in Papua New Guinea to a floor in Sydney: how China is getting rich off Pacific timber

Global Witness - In a historic win, Papua New Guinea acts against logging tax cheats. What happens next?

Al Jazeera - Papua New Guinea’s forests are being destroyed

The Guardian - Papua New Guinea landowners fight against logging