NAM-Obs

A year into the FTO designation

...A year into the FTO designation...

Posted on 21 Feb 2026

SA-Obs

Will South Africa’s plans to deploy the army to curb violence in high-crime areas have any durable effect?

...In his State of the Nation Address on 12 February 2026, President Cyril Ramaphosa put organized crime at the top of his agenda, and announced that South Africa would once again be deploying its army ...

Posted on 19 Feb 2026

Author(s): Vanja Petrovic, Darren Brookbanks

EUR-Obs

Smoke rings: Changing dynamics of Europe’s illicit tobacco trade since 2022

Smoke rings

...The illicit tobacco trade in Europe has undergone profound changes over the past five years. While smoking rates have steadily declined across the continent, illicit tobacco consumption has paradoxica...

Posted on 16 Feb 2026

Author(s): Maria Khoruk, Sarah Fares

UN Cyberwatch

Deadlock for UN cybercrime treaty: Familiar issues derail discussions in Vienna

...Despite being adopted by consensus, with broad support from member states, the UN Convention against Cybercrime has hit an early stumbling block. A clear divide over the participation of non‑state s...

Posted on 10 Feb 2026

Author(s): Ian Tennant

Eco-Solve

Getting organized: EU directive is a chance for states to tackle environmental crime as organized crime

...In a bleak year for international cooperation, the 2025 G20 summit in South Africa reached a rare point of agreement: environmental crime can no longer be sidelined. In November, leaders issued their ...

Posted on 09 Feb 2026

Author(s): Simone Haysom

Global Organized Crime Index, Gold Watch, SA-Obs

Beyond security: Critical mineral supply chains will be the defining challenge for the African Mining Indaba 2026

...The global shift towards renewable energy and digital technologies has sparked a new scramble for resources. Critical minerals such as copper, cobalt, nickel and lithium – essential to renewable ene...

Posted on 06 Feb 2026

Author(s): Marcena Hunter

EUR-Obs

Pharmacrime: Is Europe overlooking the booming online markets for pharmaceutical drugs?

...The boom in online marketplaces for illicit pharmaceuticals poses a severe risk to public health and criminal dynamics across Europe. Behind the slick, emoji-laden online storefronts is a developing f...

Posted on 05 Feb 2026

Author(s): Daniel Brombacher, Sarah Fares

EAS-Obs, EUR-Obs

Russia’s violent assets: Chechen organized crime groups in Germany

Russia's violent assets

...Chechen organized crime in Germany has become a phenomenon of increasing concern for German and European security. Its roots trace back to the collapse of the Soviet Union and Russia’s wars in Chech...

Posted on 04 Feb 2026

Gold Watch, ESA-Obs

The Somali gold rush: Milxo and the ungoverned mining frontier

The Somali gold rush

...Milxo is a tiny mining settlement in a remote and contested region of north-eastern Somalia that, over the past decade, has become the site of one of Africa’s least-known gold booms. What was little...

Posted on 02 Feb 2026

Author(s): Jay Bahadur