Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime
Winner of the 'Best Deep Dive Podcast' at the 2024 Publishers Podcast Awards, shortlisted three times for 'Best Investigative Podcast' and once for 'Best Video Podcast'. The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime brings you stories and investigations from the global criminal underworld. The topics covered by Deep Dive are far ranging, one episode could be looking at a hybrid paramilitary organized criminal cartel; the next could be the dismantling of an encrypted communications network; or the use of complex corporate structures to hide illicit activity; or the role organized crime has in the recycling industry. This podcast series demonstrates the...
S6 E1 · Tue, January 14, 2025
Drugs, Dead Drops and the Battle Over Russian Darknet Markets
If you were to walk around a Russian city, you might not realise it but hundreds of small packages of drugs, could be just below the surface, buried in the ground, or maybe attached to the back of a nearby drainpipe with magnets, or hidden inside a hole in a wall. These little "treasures" have been ordered online from a vendor operating on a darknet platform and then hidden by couriers known as 'Kladmen' all over the place waiting to be collected - this is the "dead drop" method. The darknet markets servicing Russia have revolutionized the illicit drug markets in the country, which has seen an explosion in the consumption of synthetic drugs like methadone, mephedrone or Alpha-PVP. The vendors run a network of chemists, wholesalers, and Kladmen. Sportsman, hired thugs, roam around looking for Seagulls (people who steal dead drops) and punishing Kladmen on behalf of vendors, before uploading the punishments to social media as a warning to others. For many years, Hydra, the largest DNM the world has ever known, defeated all competition and reigned supreme, handling over $5 billion dollars of cryptocurrency during its lifespan. But in 2022, it was taken down and like the mythical beast it was named after, new heads sprouted in its place - OMG!OMG!, Mega, Kraken, Blacksprut - all vying for position, competing for market share and creating the most audacious public marketing stunts and highly produced online videos. The DNMs, with connections to the precursor markets of China and India, operate on TOR, have pushed synthetic drugs into all corners of Russia, democratizing the production process, with how-to guides and readily available lab equipment, and even created an apprenticeship scheme for prospective Kladmen, with a guaranteed job at the end. The whole process is highly anonymised from production to transportation, and from purchase to delivery through the dead drop method. We have seen darknet markets affecting the drug appetites of an entire nation and beyond. Speaker(s): Max Daly , Journalist who specialises in drugs and organized crime. He is an Orwell Prize winner, co-authored of the book Narcomania and the co-author of the GITOC paper 'Breaking Klad: Russia’s Dead Drop Drug Revolution'. Patrick Shortis , Senior Blockchain Intelligence Analyst working on the illicit drugs program at TRM Labs and co-author of the GI’s paper ‘Breaking Klad: Russia’s Dead Drop Drug Revolution’. Links: Breaking Klad: Russia’s Dead Drop Drug Revolution <
S5 E7 · Wed, November 27, 2024
Colombia & Total Peace: Part 2: Buenaventura – “The Pact for Life”
Buenaventura – “The Pact for Life” Buenaventura has long been an important node in international illicit markets, particularly cocaine trafficking due to its port. Gangs, paramilitaries and organized criminal networks have all looked to gain a foothold here. The resulting violence has meant the city has seen many murders, and even more disappearances, with terrifying tales emanating from the so-called 'Casa de pique’ (Chop Shops). In September 2022, two gangs in Buenaventura, on the Pacific coast of Colombia, signed a truce to end the bloodshed that had gripped the city for two years - called 'The Pact for Life', which was mediated by the Bishop of Buenaventura. Los Shottas and Los Espartanos (the Spartans) had been locked in a vicious battle ever since they had both broken away from the La Local gang, carving up the city between them. The administration of President Gustavo Petro, saw the truce as an opportunity to negotiate with these two gangs under the Total Peace policy, which looks to reduce violence in communities across Colombia. There has been a reduction in homicides, but this stat hides the fact that other crimes have increased - extortion, disappearances, control of movement, and the "justice" (fines, beatings or murder) meted out on the population by the gangs. Speaker(s): Mariana Botero Restrepo , former GITOC Analyst and Researcher in the Observatory of the Andean Region. Felipe Botero Escobar , Head of Andean Regional Office, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime Juanita Durán-Vélez , Lawyer, Crime and Justice Lab , Colombia. Links: Andean Regional Office, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime Podcast & 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. <str
S5 E6 · Mon, October 28, 2024
Colombia & Total Peace: Part 1 - "The ELN - The Easy Win"
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, Colombia Felipe Botero Escobar , Head of Andean Regional Office, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime Links: Andean Regional Office, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime Podcast & 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 initia
Bonus · Mon, September 23, 2024
Borgata: Rise of Empire: A History of the American Mafia - Louis Ferrante - Underworlds with Mark Shaw
The History of the American Mafia: How the Mob Built Its Empire in the US, with Former Gambino Crime Family Associate, Louis Ferrante. In this episode, Mark sits down with former Mob associate Louis Ferrante to discuss his book, Borgata: The Rise of Empire: A History of the American Mafia. The history of the American Mafia, known as La Cosa Nostra or simply "The Mob," is well known. Prohibition in the United States during the Roaring Twenties saw the rise of characters who have since been mythologized in Hollywood: Charles "Lucky" Luciano and his close confidant Meyer Lansky, Al "Scarface" Capone, Arnold "The Brain" Rothstein, Dutch Schultz, Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria, and Salvatore Maranzano. What makes Borgata different is that it was written by someone who lived "The Life," providing a unique perspective. Lou discusses the formation of The Commission, an underworld ruling council that controlled the Five Families of New York (now known as the Gambino, Genovese, Lucchese, Bonanno, and Colombo), The Outfit in Chicago, and the Philadelphia Mafia. Lou talks about the rules, the use of violence, and how the US government looked to tackle the growing power of organized crime, spearheaded by the likes of prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey. We also hear about Lou's own life in La Cosa Nostra and how he and his crew committed some of the most successful heists in US history, which ultimately landed him in prison. In prison, he began to read everything he could get his hands on, including history, philosophy, and the great classics of literature. He never turned on his former associates, but when he left prison, he also left "The Life." Now he speaks about his experiences with the Mob and has become a successful author (Unlocked: A Journey from Prison to Proust), including his new a huge three-part history of the American Mafia. In this episode, Mark and Lou discuss the first book, Borgata: The Rise of Empire: A History of the American Mafia. ==================================================== Louis Ferrante's book 'Borgata: The Rise of Empire: A History of the American Mafia' is available here: https://a.co/d/cDcxOQ2 Audible version: https://a.co/d/2VHu3Ht ==================================================== 📱 Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@UCP-lqJdhM-9iDKkswuVcXZA 🌎 VISIT US! Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime - https://globalinitiative.net/ 🎧Audio version: https://link.chtbl.com/7c27X1CM 🎧WHY NOT TRY OUR OTHER PODCASTS: 🎧Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0spSX0QUq7j0NmIZOqyDTZQ 🎧The Index - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0uc_4CftGl8PrwHA3IK5WeI =================================================== FOLLOW US X - @gitoc LinkedIn - @Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime IG - @gi_toc =====
Trailer · Mon, September 16, 2024
TRAILER: Underworlds with Mark Shaw - Underworlds with Mark Shaw
Welcome to Underworlds with Mark Shaw. Organized Crime is everywhere, hidden in plain sight. The stories from this world have been mythologised by Hollywood. But the reality can be even stranger and more exciting than fiction. From the golden age of the American mafia (La Cosa Nostra), to the modern-day cocaine empires, and from the shadowy links between organized crime and terrorism, to the twilight of the Yakuza. In this series Mark Shaw, the Director of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime delves into non-fiction books about organized crime and the illicit economy with the authors themselves. He asks questions about their background and investigations, but also the challenges associated in writing about this murky world.
S5 E5 · Wed, July 24, 2024
Mohamed Amra and the gangs of Marseille
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 Crime Links: (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 Crime Global Organized Crime Index Senate 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 Links https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/provence-alpes-cote-d-azur/bouches-du-rhone/marseille/reglements-de-comptes-a-marseille-huit-ans-de-prison-pour-une-fusillade-a-l-origine-de-l-ete-meurtrier-de-2021-2915706.html https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/provence-alpes-cote-d-azur/bouches-du-rhone/marseille/il-y-a-un-regain-assez-important-de-la-violence-pourquoi-les-fusillades-se-multiplient-ces-dernieres-semaines-a-marseille-3005078.html https://www.lyonne.fr/avallon-89200/actualites/jamilah-habsaoui-maire-d-avallon-en-sursis_14508004/<
S5 E4 · Tue, May 21, 2024
The Long Tail: Cross-Channel Migrant Smuggling (France to the UK)
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 Netherlands Additional Links ht
S5 E3 · Tue, March 26, 2024
LockBit: Is this the end?
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 PRODAFT Links: GITOC - The Rise and Fall of the Conti ransomware group PRODAFT - LockBit: Behind the Lines of the Notorious RaaS PRODAFT - The Demise of LOCKBIT : Disrupting the Most Prominent Ransomware Gang by Utilizing Upstream Threat Intelligence https://twitter.com/PRODAFT https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/gb/security/news/ransomware-by-the-numbers/lockbit-blackcat-and-clop-prevail-as-top-raas-groups-for-1h-2023 https://www.wired.com/story/lockbit-ransomware-takedown-website-nca-fbi/ https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/02/fulton-county-security-experts-call-lockbits-bluff/ https://www.blackfog.com/the-top-10-ransomware-groups-of-2023/ https://go.recordedfuture.com/webinar/threat-briefing/lockbit-takedown https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-19/fbi-uk-crime-agency-say-they-have-disrupted-lockbit-hacking-gang?cmpid=cyber https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/lockbit-ransomware-returns-to-attacks-with-new-encryptors-servers/ https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/nca-leads-international-investigation-targeting-worlds-most-harmful-ransomware-group https://samples.vx-underground.org/tmp/Lockbit_Statement_2024-02-24.txt https://therecord.media/lockbit-lied-about-deleting-exfiltrated-data-after-ransom-payments https://www.sophos.com/en-us/content/state-of-ransomware https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/gb/security/news/ransomware-spotlight/ransomware-spotlight-rhysida https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/06/hacker-british-library-cybersecurity-cybercrime-uk https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa23-352a https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/us/security/news/ransomware-spotlight/ransomware-spotlight-royal https://www.reuters.com/technology/cybersecurity/black
S5 E2 · Mon, March 04, 2024
Russia, War & Organized Crime
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 invasion Links: (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 o
S5 E1 · Mon, February 05, 2024
Monitoring: What is going on in Ecuador?
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 Crime GI-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 Europe Additional Reading: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-12/gang-violence-ecuador-cocaine-banana-exports-los-choneros/103311442 https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/seguridad/el-fiscal-cesar-suarez-asesinado-en-los-ceibos-investigaba-el-ataque-armado-en-tc-television-nota/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-68014040 https://news.sky.com/story/prosecutor-investigating-ecuador-tv-station-attack-shot-dead-13050642 https://ecuador221.com.ec/ofrecen-recompensa-por-informacion-de-cinco-cabecillas-de-bandas-cr
S4 E12 · Mon, December 04, 2023
Monitoring: Ovidio Guzmán and the Kingpin Strategy
'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 - Link GITOC: OC Index - Mexico OC Index - Colombia Clan 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=Cmlj7cFHlsA https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/criminal-prosecution-drug-traffickers-under-continuing-criminal https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-66853111 https://insightcrime.org/colombia-organized-crime-news/oficina-de-envigado-profile/ https://insightcrime.org/colombia-organized-crime-news/auc-profile/ <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-66784678" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank
S4 E11 · Tue, November 14, 2023
Illicit Financial Flows in the Western Balkans
“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 Crime Sokol 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 Crime Links: Illicit financial flows in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia: Key drivers and current trends Illicit Financial Flows in Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia: Key drivers and current trends Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime Global Organized Crime Index Research 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-avoidanc
S4 E10 · Tue, October 17, 2023
Monitoring: A Month of Drug Seizures
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 - Link Papers : The cocaine pipeline to Europe Atlantic connections: The PCC and the Brazil-West Africa cocaine trade West Africa's Cocaine Corridor: Building a subregional response Cocaine politics in West Africa: Guinea-Bissau's protection networks A powder storm: The cocaine markets of East and southern Africa Additional 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.html https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster/arid-41235682.html https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:5058595/mmsi:250004351/imo:0/vessel:CASTLEMORE <a href="https://afloat.ie/sa
S4 E9 · Mon, October 02, 2023
“They don’t ******* withdraw it” - Scam Call Centres in Ukraine
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 Crime PORT IN A STORM: Organized crime in Odesa since the Russian invasion New front lines: Organized criminal economies in Ukraine in 2022 Global Organized Crime Index Additional Reading: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/katie-investigates/father-attempted-suicide-crypto-fraudsters-tricked-144k/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-36108762 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-22/ukraine-s-economy-grows-year-on-year-first-time-since-war-began https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2023/03/30/western-lenders-may-regret-forcing-ukraine-to-turn-to-the-imf https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/latvia-and-lithuania-detain-108-over-multi-million-euro-call-centre-scam https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20100609/midtown-west-hells-kitchen/fbi-raids-suspected-mafia-boiler-rooms-midtown/ https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6928696 https://www.occrp.org/en/fraud-factory/trail-of-broken-lives-leads-to-kyiv-call-center https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-65038949 https://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/fraudfactory/ https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/bulgarian-authorities-take-down-online-investment-scam-responsible-for-losses-of-more-eur-10-million https://www.epravda.com.ua/publications/2023/03/24/698383/ https://twitter.com/i/status/1606340479196479488 https://www.businessinsider.com/russians-scammed-torching-kremlin-offices-cars-2023-4?r=US&IR=T https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66440752 https://t.me/mashmoyka/11725 https://www.businessinsider.com/russians-scammed-torching-kremlin-offices-cars-2023-4?r=US&IR=T</p
S4 E8 · Wed, August 02, 2023
Colombia: In the face of crime and violence
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 Crime Joshua 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, Luis Initiative Beneficiaries – Jamileth, Dana, Dayanis, Nicole, Sofia Links: Somos Comunidad Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime PADF Research Links: https://www.eluniversal.com.co/sucesos/masacre-en-el-carmen-de-bolivar-mi-hijo-era-un-nino-venia-de-la-tienda-NF3447834 https://aldianews.com/en/culture/destinations/worlds-first-soda-pop https://www.semana.com/nacion/cartagena/articulo/golpe-a-la-delincuencia-caen-13-presuntos-integrantes-de-la-subestructura-heroes-del-caribe/202204/ <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-edn
S4 E7 · Tue, June 27, 2023
The Rise and Fall of the Conti Ransomware Group
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 - Twitter Berk Albayrak, Threat Intelligence Analyst within the PRODAFT Threat Intelligence team and expert on Wizard Spider - Twitter Conor Gallagher – Crime and Security Correspondent of the Irish Times - Twitter Allan Liska , Threat Intelligence Analyst at Recorded Future and author of Ransomware: Understand. Precent. Recover . - Twitter Juan 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 Map Jake Moore , Global Cybersecurity Advisor for
S4 E6 · Mon, May 22, 2023
“Death Can Wait”: Drugs on the Frontline in Ukraine
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): Ted Sasha Additional Reading: (GI Paper) New front lines: Organized criminal economies in Ukraine in 2022 Business Insider - Russian lawmakers baselessly claim their army is up against biologically modified Ukrainian super soldiers LiveScience - Nazis Dosed Soldiers with Performance-Boosting 'Superdrug' History - G.I.s’ Drug Use in Vietnam Soared—With Their Commanders’ Help The Atlantic - The Drugs That Built a Super Soldier Journeyman Pictures - Sierra Leone's Cocaine-Drugged Child Soldiers Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime - Lebanon’s role in Syria’s Captagon trade Washington Post - Zelensky takes on Ukraine’s top internal enemy Legatum Institute - Looting Ukraine: The East, the West and the Corruption of a Country (Full Version) Transparency International - Corruption Perceptions Index <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/
S4 E5 · Wed, May 03, 2023
P2 - The Murder of Ahmed Divela
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 Project Ahmed Divela - Faces of Assassination Global Assassination Monitor The 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 <a href="https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/assassinations-targeted-killings-south-africa
S4 E4 · Wed, May 03, 2023
P1 - The Murder of Ahmed Divela
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 Project Ahmed Divela - Faces of Assassination Global Assassination Monitor The 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 crime <a href="https
S4 E3 · Mon, April 17, 2023
P2 - The Wagner Group in Sudan
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 journalist UK exposes sick Russian troll factory plaguing social media with Kremlin propaganda Fake news and public executions: Documents
S4 E2 · Mon, April 17, 2023
P1 - The Wagner Group in Sudan
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 journalist UK exposes sick Russian troll factory plaguing social media with Kremlin propaganda Fake news and public executions: Documents show a Russian company’s plan for quelling protests in Sudan Wagner chief admits to founding Russian troll farm sanc
S4 E1 · Wed, January 18, 2023
The Drug Markets of East and Southern Africa
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 Crime x2 Anonyomous researchers (Kenya, South Africa) Happy Assan, Drug Researcher, Tanzania Additional 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 - Link News Articles: Record Bust For Mozambique Bound Drugs - Link Mozambican arrested in Brazil with 5 kg of cocaine hidden in ‘7-day candles’ - Link BBC News - Fuminho: One of Brazil's most wanted criminals arrested in Mozambique - Link Insight Crime - Cocaine Trade Grows in East and Southern Africa - <a href="https://insightcrime.org/news/cocaine-
S3 E10 · Tue, November 15, 2022
How to Respond to Environmental Crime
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 Crime Farai Maguwu, Director at the Center for Natural Resource Governance in Zimbabwe and member of the GI Network of Experts Vincent 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 Crime Virginia Comolli, Senior Expert, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime Jason Eligh, Senior Expert, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime Additional 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 - <a href="https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/illicit-logging-guinea-bissau/" rel
S3 E9 · Wed, October 19, 2022
P4 - 'Ndrangheta - "The Cocaine Gateway"
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'. Twitter Additional 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 Partnership Europol - <a href="https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/italian-operation-takes-down-corrupt-port-workers-facilitating-%E2%80%
S3 E8 · Wed, October 12, 2022
P3 - 'Ndrangheta - Canada: "The Chamber of Control"
Part 3 - "The Chamber of Control" Woodbridge, Vaughan, Greater Toronto Area, 2014. A man called Carmine Verduci was gunned down outside a sports café. Over the coming days Italian and Canadian law enforcement alleged that Verduci, born in Calabria, was a connecting bridge between 'ndrangheta clans in the Locride area of Calabria and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). He was reported to be a senior member of what is known as 'The Siderno Group'. In this third episode, Anna Sergi, author of the new book ‘Chasing the Mafia: 'Ndrangheta, Memories and Journeys', talks about the growth of the 'ndrangheta in North America and presence of the 'Siderno Group'. 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'. Twitter Additional Reading ( Book ) Chasing the Mafia: 'Ndrangheta, Memories and Journeys by Anna Sergi ( Book ) Mafia Republic: Italy's Criminal Curse. Cosa Nostra, 'Ndrangheta and Camorra from 1946 to the Present by John Dickie ( Podcast ) The Index - episode 3 & 4 "Italy and mafia" - https://link.chtbl.com/TheIndex (Podcast) Deep Dive - ' Fishy Business ' The Global Organized Crime Index - Country Profile - Italy The Global Organized Crime Index - Country Profile - Canada The Global Organized Crime Index - Country Profile - United States National Post - '<a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/toronto/mobster-gunned-down-north-of-toronto-thursday-mistakenly-exposed-the-mafias-canadian-cell-six-years-ago/wcm/20bedd74-8478-4306-89ea-6ad8d2d975f0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank
S3 E7 · Mon, September 26, 2022
P2 - 'Ndrangheta - "'Ndrangheta Royalty Down Under"
Part 2 - "ndrangheta Royalty Down Under" In 2007, the Australian Federal Police received a tipoff about a container arriving at the Port of Melbourne. The container had come from Italy and was full of tins of tomatoes, inside those tins was the largest ecstasy bust in the world at that time. The AFP had discovered an international drug trafficking criminal syndicate at work. At the centre of this was one criminal dynasty, not only were they a prominent Calabrian mafia clan back in Platì, the heart of the 'ndrangheta, but also one of the founding 'ndrangheta clans in Australia. In this second episode Anna Sergi, author of the new book ‘Chasing the Mafia: 'Ndrangheta, Memories and Journeys', talks about the growth of the 'ndrangheta in Australia through one family, who she describes as "Royalty". 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'. Twitter Additional Reading ( Book ) Chasing the Mafia: 'Ndrangheta, Memories and Journeys by Anna Sergi ( Book ) Mafia Republic: Italy's Criminal Curse. Cosa Nostra, 'Ndrangheta and Camorra from 1946 to the Present by John Dickie Anna Sergi blog, University of Essex - A flurry of attention, then collective forgetfulness – 100 years of the ‘ndrangheta Calabrian mafia in Australia ( Podcast ) The Index - episode 3 & 4 "Italy and mafia" - https://link.chtbl.com/TheIndex The Global Organized Crime Index - Country Profile - Italy The Global Organized Crime Index - Country Profile - Australia Four Corners (ABC and Fairfax media) - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR27WgRkWxo" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_
S3 E6 · Mon, September 05, 2022
P1 - 'Ndrangheta - "The Madonna of the Mountain"
Part 1 - "The Madonna of the Mountain" In Calabria, southern Italy there is a mountain massif called Aspromonte, "harsh mountain". The villages that hug the mountain slopes, places like San Luca, Natile and Platì are the birthplaces of the clans that make up what is collectively known as ‘Ndrangheta – one of the most powerful organized criminal syndicates in the world. From these humble beginnings the clans have spread their tentacles around the globe and become major players in the international illicit drug trade. And one of the ways they did this was by reinvesting money from one illicit act into another - kidnapping. Over the next few podcasts we look through the eyes of Anna Sergi, a Calabrian native herself and an expert in the 'Ndrangheta. Anna's recent book 'Chasing the Mafia: 'Ndrangheta, Memories and Journeys' discusses her journey around the world looking for the 'Ndrangheta. In this first episode Anna relays stories from her childhood and memories of 'The Kidnapping Season' which took place in the Aspromonte mountains around her. 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. Twitter Additional Reading ( Book ) Chasing the Mafia: 'Ndrangheta, Memories and Journeys by Anna Sergi ( Book ) Mafia Republic: Italy's Criminal Curse. Cosa Nostra, 'Ndrangheta and Camorra from 1946 to the Present by John Dickie ( Paper ) Once upon a time in Palermo: Giovanni Falcone and the fight against Cosa Nostra ( Podcast ) The Index - episode 3 & 4 "Italy and mafia" - https://link.chtbl.com/TheIndex The Global Organized Crime Index - Country Profile - Italy Global Initiative Against
S3 E5 · Wed, May 25, 2022
P2 - Killing the Power of the Pen: Violence against journalists in Mexico
Part 2 - "I fear for my life" In 2019, journalist Lourdes Maldonado rose from her seat to speak to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at a press conference - it was during this moment she said "I fear for my life" due to a long running legal dispute. Three years later, and just days after that case had been ruled in her favour, she was gunned down outside her home. Officials blamed a local cartel group, but critics were not and still are not convinced by this version of events. There is little trust between officials and journalism, and when it comes to violence against journalists in Mexico, with impunity levels over 90% it is not a surprise. This is a story about impunity, a hostile political climate, censorship, and the families left behind with those directly affected. Speakers : Marcela Turati Muñoz , Mexico , is a reporter for the magazine Proceso , where she reports about human rights, social development, and the impact of drug violence and its victims. She is also the co-founder of Quinto Elemento Lab . Miguel Ángel León Carmona - a Mexican Journalist in Veracruz. Griselda Triana, Author of The Forgotten Ones: Relatives of murdered and disappeared journalists in Mexico and wife of Javier Valdez. Siria Gastélum Félix , Resilience Director at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime Leopoldo Maldonado - Regional Director, Office for Mexico and Central America, Article 19 . Jan-Albert Hootsen , Mexico Representative / Representante en México, The Commit
S3 E4 · Mon, May 09, 2022
P1 - Killing the Power of the Pen: Violence against journalists in Mexico
Part 1 - "It’s a message of terror, to stop asking questions" Mexico is known as one of the most dangerous places to be a journalist on the planet, and 2022 is on record to be the deadliest yet. José Luis Gamboa Arenas , a journalist from Veracruz became the first to be killed this year, the body of Luis Enrique Ramírez Ramos , a Sinaloan journalist was found in Culiacán on May 5th taking to total to nine. So how has Mexico got to the point where so many journalists and media workers are being attacked and killed? This is a story of bravery in the face of surveillance, intimidation and violence, extreme corruption, organized crime, shockingly high levels of impunity, censorship and a hostile political climate. Update: May 11th 2022 - Two more journalists were murdered in Veracruz as they sat in a car - Yessenia Mollinedo and Sheila Garcia. The total now has risen to 11. Speakers : Marcela Turati Muñoz , Mexico , is a reporter for the magazine Proceso , where she reports about human rights, social development, and the impact of drug violence and its victims. She is also the co-founder of Quinto Elemento Lab . Miguel Ángel León Carmona - a Mexican Journalist in Veracruz. Griselda Triana, Author of The Forgotten Ones: Relatives of murdered and disappeared journalists in Mexico and wife of Javier Valdez. Siria Gastélum Félix , Resilience D
S3 E3 · Mon, April 11, 2022
"You beat me" - Part 3: Clan del Golfo: The Fall of Otoniel
As the net begins to close on Otoniel, life on the run is hard. Deep in the jungles of Úraba, he never stays in a single place for more than two nights, he no longer communicates using phones and he stays away from urban centres for fear of capture. But he still runs the largest organized criminal group in Colombia. One by one, other senior members of Clan del Golfo are picked off. But Otoniel continues to evade law enforcement in a constant game of cat and mouse. But now, Operation Agamemnon is in full swing with Search Bloc, the Colombian army and international partners hunting Otoniel - and when he is finally captured it's reported that he said "You beat me". This is part 3 of Clan del Golfo: The Fall of Otoniel . Speakers: Angela Olaya , the Co-founder and Senior Researcher at the Conflict Responses Foundation in Colombia. Toby Muse , Foreign Correspondent, documentary filmmaker and author of the book Kilo: Life and Death inside the secret world of the cocaine cartels. Jorge Mantilla , the Director of Conflict Dynamics and Organized Violence, Ideas for Peace Foundation and a member of the GI network Related Links: Toby Muse - Kilo: Life and Death inside the secret world of the cocaine cartels Insight Crime - Dairo Antonio Usuga "Otoniel" Profile teleSUR - A Look into 'Clan del Golfo,' Colombia's Largest Paramilitary Group el Colombiano - Siete líneas guiarán al Ejército nacional Los Informantes - Las chicas del clan: alias ¿Otoniel? y su red de prostitución de menores el Heraldo - “Somos hombres de Dios”, el mensaje de alias Otoniel al Papa <a href="h
S3 E2 · Mon, March 28, 2022
"Don't text or call me" - Part 2: Clan del Golfo: The Fall of Otoniel
At the end of part 1, Otoniel we left him in sole charge of Clan del Golfo, the biggest organized crime group in Colombia. In part 2 "Don't text or call me", we look through the eyes of a man who goes by the alias "Messi", who was involved in cocaine trafficking and money laundering for Clan del Golfo. We'll see how he used real-estate, cars, watches, front companies and government contracts to clean the drug money...as well through football, music and livestock! And finally we'll delve into the murky world of illegal gold mining and the way Clan del Golfo use violence, intimidation and even assassination to get extortion payments from the workers. Speakers : Daniel Rico , Researcher at Ideas for Peace Foundation and Director of C-Analysis in Colombia and member of GI Network Luis Fernando Trejos Rosero , Profesor investigador del Departamento de Ciencia Política y Relaciones Internacionales, Universidad del Norte, Colombia Jorge Mantilla , the Director of Conflict Dynamics and Organized Violence, Ideas for Peace Foundation and a member of the GI network Toby Muse , Foreign Correspondent, documentary filmmaker and author of the book Kilo: Life and Death inside the secret world of the cocaine cartels. Marcena Hunter , Senior Analyst, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime Ana Paula Oliveira , Analyst, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime & Global Assassinations Monitor. Related Links: (Paper) <a href="https://globali
S3 E1 · Mon, February 21, 2022
"He's an animal" - Part 1: Clan del Golfo: The Fall of Otoniel
In late 2021, the leader of Clan del Golfo (The Urabeños) Dairo Antonio Úsuga, aka "Otoniel", was captured by the Colombian police. President Iván Duque said that the arrest was only matched by the fall of Pablo Escobar in the 1990s. Over the course of two episodes we look at the birth of Clan del Golfo out of the ashes of the right-wing paramilitary movement in Colombia. We'll explore their involvement in illicit markets such as drug trafficking, illegal mining, human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and how they use extreme violence and targeted assassinations to spread fear. So who is Otoniel? Well, a prominent drug trafficker, Daniel "El Loco" Barrera, after being captured by Colombian police, warned them that about Otoniel, repeatedly saying..."He's an animal". Speakers : Angela Olaya , the Co-founder and Senior Researcher at the Conflict Responses Foundation in Colombia. Toby Muse , Foreign Correspondent, documentary filmmaker and author of the book Kilo: Life and Death inside the secret world of the cocaine cartels. Jorge Mantilla , the Director of Conflict Dynamics and Organized Violence, Ideas for Peace Foundation and a member of the GI network Related Links : Toby Muse - Kilo: Life and Death inside the secret world of the cocaine cartels Insight Crime - Dairo Antonio Usuga "Otoniel" Profile Colombia Reports - Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC) / Gulf Clan Insight Crime - AUC Profile Mapping Militants, CISAC, Stanford El Semana - Daniel "El Loco" Barrera arrested Paramilitar
S2 E8 · Mon, January 10, 2022
Killing in Silence: The Global Assassination Monitor
An assassination is like a stone being dropped into the middle of a still pond – the splash is the violent act itself – the ripples are the repercussions, that spread far and wide – fear, intimidation, silencing, corruption, erosion of trust, environmental damage, illicit firearms, impunity and retaliation – after all, violence begets violence – the damage to society is far-reaching, way beyond the shock of that initial killing. In November 2021, the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime launched the Global Assassination Monitor - the first ever global database on contract killings. Speakers Ana-Paula Oliveira, Analyst, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime Nina Kaysser, Senior Analyst, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime Presenter Jack Meegan-Vickers Additional material The Global Assassination Monitor (Paper) Killing in Silence: New research uncovers sheer magnitude of assassinations linked to organized crime Assassination Witness Project (Podcast) Faces of Assassination (Also available across podcast platforms) (Book pdf) Faces of Assassination book (Paper) The rule of the gun: Hits and assassinations in South Africa, 2000-2017 (Paper) Murder by Contract: Targeted killings in eastern and southern Africa (Paper) How to silence the guns? Southern Africa's illegal firearms markets (Paper) <a href="https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/montenegro-assassination
S2 E7 · Tue, December 07, 2021
Plastics for Profit
In this episode we look at the criminal involvement in the plastic waste industry. The lucrative global market in plastic waste is expected to be reach over $50 billion US Dollars by 2022. From Mafia groups to poly-crime networks, the temptation for organised criminal groups and bad actors to get a slice of this market is too hard to resist - and so corners are cut, laws are ignored, and irreversible damage is done. Alongside this, some waste management companies are used as Fronts to conceal other illicit activities like human trafficking, drug trafficking, prostitution, and various financial crimes like money laundering, tax evasion, mis-invoicing. Paper : Plastic for Profit: Tracing illicit plastic waste flows, supply chains and actors Speakers Virginia Comolli , Research Manager, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime Yuyun Ismawati , Special Advisor at the Nexus3 Foundation Willie Wilson , Vice Chair and Private Sector Engagement Lead, INTERPOL Pollution Crime Working Group Sedat Gündoğdu , Marine Biologist at Cukurova University in Turkey Reading Plastic for Profit: Tracing illicit plastic waste flows, supply chains and actors , Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GITOC) Money Laundering from Environmental Crime , Financial Action Task Force (FATF) INTERPOL report alerts to sharp rise in plastic waste crime , INTERPO
S2 E6 · Mon, September 27, 2021
Crossing the Line: India and Myanmar
In this episode we tell the story of a region, the "Seven Sisters", otherwise known as the Indian Northeast and one town in particular, Moreh, and the relationship with neighbouring Myanmar. Moreh sits just on the Indian side of the border and has become a hub for multiple illicit flows that pass through - timber, gold, firearms, wildlife, counterfeits, people, and illicit drugs. The Indian Northeast is undeveloped and has suffered multiple insurgencies over the decades. Often forgotten by governments who have eyes squarely focused on the giant neighbour to the North, China, and the geostrategic games taking place between the world's two most populous nations. Underpinning it all is the uncertainty of the brutal military coup in Myanmar in February this year. Speakers Prem Mahadevan , Senior Fellow at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime Thin Lei Win , Burmese journalist, living and working in Europe Dr Ajai Sahni , Executive Director of the Institute for Conflict Management Nicholas Farrelly , Professor and Head of Social Sciences at the University of Tasmania in Australia This podcast is based on the paper: Crossing the Line: Geopolitics and Criminality on the India-Myanmar border . Research What On Earth? podcast - Episode 12 - Myanmar: ‘Anybody investing in the natural resource sector is, in essence, supporting the military’ . Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). Myanmar's tainted timber and the military coup , Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). Jade and Conflict , Global Witness The hunt for Asia’s El Chapo , Reuters <a href="https
S2 E5 · Mon, September 06, 2021
Fishy Business
This is a story of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, complex corporate structures, human trafficking, arms smuggling, corruption and the capture of state institutions. In this collaborative episode with Africa and the Global Illicit Economy , we travel to the rich fishing grounds off Puntland in Somalia and a fleet of vessels known as the "Somali 7", before looking into a politically connected company that has an uncanny ability to operate either outside or just on the fringes of the law. This podcast is based on the report Fishy Business: Illegal Fishing in Somalia and the capture of state institutions. Presenter : Lindy Mtongana Speakers : Jay Bahadur , Researcher and Investigator at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. Dr. Katharine Petrich , visiting assistant professor incoming at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California Ian Urbina , Investigative Journalist and author of The Outlaw Ocean. Austin Brush , Senior Analyst at C4ADS Additional Reading Jay Bahadur, GITOC - Fishy Business: Illegal Fishing in Somalia and the capture of state institutions Ian Urbina - The Outlaw Ocean.
S2 E4 · Thu, June 24, 2021
Guinea-Bissau Part 2: Pau de Sangue (Blood Timber)
In the wake of the 2012 'Cocaine Coup' in Guinea-Bissau the illegal logging trade exploded, largely driven by huge demand for rosewood logs in China - a species protected under international law. By 2014, such was the extent of this illicit trade, civil society pressured the new government to introduce a five-year moratorium on timber exports. Now, in 2021, as the government seems poised to lift the moratorium, there is fear that there could be a resurgence in illegal logging causing irreparable damage to the environment. Guests Obento Branco Catami (Regional Delegate for Forestry and Wildlife in the Cacheu region). Ude Fati (Economist, Head of Voz di Paz) Fodé Mané (University of Bissau) Tânia Gomes (President of the Association of Friends of Guinea-Bissau) Lucia Bird Ruiz-Benitez de Lugo, Senior Analyst, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime Reading Deep-rooted interests: Licensing illicit logging in Guinea Bissau Authorized Plunder in Guinea-Bissau - Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) Breaking the vicious cycle: Cocaine politics in Guinea-Bissau The Seidi Bá cocaine trial: A smokescreen for impunity? Presenter : Jack Meegan-Vickers
S2 E3 · Wed, April 28, 2021
Cabo Delgado: Africa’s Forgotten Insurgency
On March 24th 2021, Islamist insurgents carried out an attack on the coastal town of Palma in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado. The days of fighting, looting, massacres, private military contractors, and dramatic rescues led to thousands more people fleeing to escape the violence. The attack took place just a few kilometres from Total’s $20 billion-dollar natural gas project on the Afungi peninsula and in the same province as the huge ruby fields of Montepuez. Last year the Global Initiative asked how this ongoing insurgency is impacting the illicit flows that travel through the region – after the attack at Palma, we have decided to revisit this subject. This is a collaborative episode between Africa and the Global Illicit Economy and Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime . Presenter : Lindy Mtongana Speakers : Prof. Adriano Nuvunga – Director of the CDD Mozambique Zenaida Machado – Senior Researcher, Human Rights Watch Alastair Nelson – Senior Fellow, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime Johann Smith – Independent Security Analyst in Mozambique Colonel Lionel Dyck – CEO of the of Dyck Advisory Group (DAG) Reading : Observatory of Illicit Economies in Eastern and Southern Africa – Risk Bulletin Issue. 17 A Triangle of Vulnerability: Changing patterns of illicit trafficking off the Swahili coast Podcast: Deep Dive: Exp
S2 E2 · Fri, April 16, 2021
Guinea-Bissau Part 1: Civil Society and Illicit Markets
A look at how a self-interested political and military elite used profits from illicit markets to fuel their own ambitions at the expense of the wider population. This is a story of corruption, dirty money, cocaine and illegal logging. This is Part one of a two-part special on Guinea-Bissau, the small West African nation. In this episode we will chart the course of Guinea-Bissau from Independence to the present day through the eyes of civil society organisations, who step in to fill the void left by an absent state. Guests Augusto Mário (Pres. GNB Human Rights League) Ude Fati (Economist, Head of Voz di Paz) Fodé Mané (University of Bissau) Rui Landim (Political Analyst) Augusta Henriques (founder of Tiniguena, civil society activist) Reading Breaking the vicious cycle: Cocaine politics in Guinea-Bissau The Seidi Bá cocaine trial: A smokescreen for impunity? Mission not accomplished?: UNIOGBIS closes amid uncertainty in Guinea-Bissau CPJ - Guinea-Bissau editor António Aly Silva abducted and beaten Presenter : Jack Meegan-Vickers
S2 E1 · Tue, January 12, 2021
The Fall of EncroChat
In June 2020, EncroChat users received a flurry of panicked messages from the company claiming its encrypted network had been hacked by "government entities". What unravelled was one of the biggest hacks by law enforcement in history, who claimed many of its users are alleged organized criminals in Europe. The hack was said to have revealed a litany of criminal behaviour - drug deals and shipments, money laundering and arms trafficking, corrupt police officers, a planning of a murder and even the discovery of a torture chamber, hidden within a shipping container. But was the hack even legal? And what are the implications for the encrypted communications that many of us use everyday? This podcast was based on the reporting of Joseph Cox at Motherboard , VICE News. Guests : Joseph Cox , Senior Staff Writer at Motherboard, VICE News. Jake Moore , Cyber Security Specialist at ESET . Edouard Klein, Intelligence-Driven Cybersecurity, Sekoia.fr Tuesday Reitano , Deputy Director of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. Reading : How Police Secretly Took Over a Global Phone Network for Organized Crime , Motherboard Encrochat Investigation Finds Corrupt Cops Leaking Information to Criminals , Motherboard Encrypted Phone Network Says It's Shutting Down After Police Hack, Motherboard Europol, Internet Organized Crime Threat Assessment (iOCTA) 2020 Al Jazeera, Opinion: <a href="https://www.al
S1 E7 · Fri, November 20, 2020
Child Sexual Abuse Material, COVID and Technology.
With more people working from home than ever before due to the pandemic,. But another parallel pandemic is taking place, that of online child sexual abuse material which has taken a sharp rise around the world. In this podcast, we’re discussing Child Online Sexual Abuse (CSAM), COVID and technology. Presenter(s): Lucia Bird Ruiz-Benitez de Lugo and Jack Meegan-Vickers. Speakers: Fernando Ruiz , Head of Operations at the European Cybercrime Centre , set up by Europol to co-ordinate crossborder investigations into cybercrime. Amela Efendic is the director of the European Resource Centre for the Prevention of Trafficking and head of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Office for the International Forum for Solidarity-Emmaus . Judie Kaberia is a fellow of the 2020 Resilience Fund of the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime. GI Research Paper: Transformative Technologies: How digital is changing the landscape of organized crime. Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime
S1 E6 · Tue, November 10, 2020
Under the Shadow: Illicit Economies in Iran
In this podcast, Jack is looking at the latest Global Initative Against Transnational Organized Crime report called ' Under the Shadow: Illicit Economies in Iran ', which looks at how the illicit economy has become intertwined within the licit economy of the Iranian State. Speakers Alexander Soderholm , an international drug policy field researcher with a focus on Iran and the Middle East. Katherine Bauer , a Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former US Treasury official. Naysan Rafati , the Senior Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group Sign up to the AssassinationWitness campaign here .
S1 E5 · Thu, September 10, 2020
Extortion in the Northern Triangle
In the Northern Triangle countries of Central America - Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, extortion is so pervasive that it has been called “A way of life”. The growth in extortion in the region was defined by the expansion of street gangs MS13 and Barrio 18. They have a stranglehold on the countries in which they operate, extorting rich and poor and even international corporations. The revenue from extortion has provided gangs in the region with a solid economic operating base, and at the same time allowed them to diversify into other criminal enterprises – they are now transnational organized criminal groups. Presenter: Jack Meegan-Vickers Speakers: 1. Guillermo Vazquez del Mercado Almada , Senior Analyst, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime 2. Evelyn Espinosa , Research Adviser at Diálogos 3. Pamela Ruiz, Consultant at the Coalition for Resilience Project and member of the GI Network of Experts. 4. Professor Lucia Dammert , University of Santiago, Chile and member of the GI Network of Experts. GI Extortion Project Paper: A Criminal Culture: Extortion in Central America Other content available at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime website .
S1 E4 · Fri, July 24, 2020
Transnational Tentacles
Transnational Tentacles: Global Hotspots of Balkan Organized Crime. The Western Balkans is well understood now as an important transit point for the smuggling of drugs, arms and people. But what has been less understood is how over the past few decades, criminal groups within the Western Balkans region and the global diaspora have carved out a place within the very highest echelons of the criminal world. Paper: Transnational Tentacles: Global Hotspots of Balkan Organized Crime. Guests: Walter Kemp , Senior Fellow at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime Fatjona Mejdini , Field Network Coordinator, Balkans at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. Susana Morán , investigative journalist in Ecuador specialising in organized crime Mandy Wiener , journalist, broadcaster and author of Killing Kebble: An Underworld Exposed
S1 E3 · Fri, June 26, 2020
Illegal Logging & Organized Crime in Chihuahua, Mexico
People and Forests at Risk: Organized Crime, trafficking in persons and deforestation in Chihuahua, Mexico. The highland ranges of the Sierra Madre are cool and temperate forests – with several species of Oak, conifers and a number of pines, and logging is permitted here. But excessive legal and illegal logging is contributing to rapid deforestation. Organized criminal groups have established their position within the illegal logging trade, with them comes violence, corruption, kidnapping, extortion, displacement of indigenous communities and persecution of environmental and human-rights defenders. Presenters: Livia Wagner and Jack Meegan-Vickers Guests: Diana Siller , co-author of the paper and Director of JADE (Environmental Justice and human rights in Mexico) Julia Urrunaga , Environmental Investigation Agency ( EIA ), an international NGO who investigate forest and environmental crimes. Sound Effects: Freesfx
S1 E2 · Mon, May 25, 2020
Insurgency and Illicit trade in Northern Mozambique
How will the ongoing violent Islamist insurgency in the Cabo Delgado region of Northern Mozambique overlap with the organized criminal networks that operate in the area. How has the corruption within the Mozambican state contributed to the growth of the insurgency? Presenter: Lindy Mtongana Guests: Professor Adriano Nuvunga , Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development and a leading civil society activist in Mozambique Simone Haysom , Senior Analyst, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, researching the role of foreign organised crime groups in Africa. Alastair Nelson , Senior Analyst who Coordinates the GI’s Resilience Fund work in Mozambique Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime
S1 E1 · Thu, April 30, 2020
Destruction or Theft?
Destruction or Theft? Between 2014 and 2017, the Islamic State group occupied territory in Iraq. At it's height it controlled almost a third of the country and over 4,500 historical sites. Alongside the dramatic pictures of the destruction of artefacts and irreplaceable ancient sites like Nimrud, others have claimed that this destruction was largely carried out to conceal extensive looting of valuable artefacts. Presenters: Laura Adal and Jack Meegan-Vickers Guests: Colin P. Clarke , Senior Research Fellow at The Soufan Center and Assistant Teaching Professor at Carnegie Mellon University. Christina Schori Liang , Head of Terrorism and PVE at GCSP. Katie A. Paul , Co-Director of the ATHAR Project
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