Displaying items by tag: smuggling

The latest US strike on a vessel in the Pacific, ordered by Donald Trump, has drawn renewed condemnation and concern. Two people were killed in what was described as an anti-narcotics operation, bringing the total death toll from similar maritime attacks to at least 67 since September. Despite claims that the vessels targeted were involved in drug trafficking, Washington has yet to provide evidence, prompting accusations of extrajudicial killings. Human rights advocates, including the UN’s Volker Turk, have warned that such actions violate international law and risk killing innocent fishermen. The escalation has drawn condemnation from Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro, who regards Trump’s intensified ‘war on drugs’ as a pretext to topple him from power. With an aircraft carrier about to join other US vessels already in the region, the world watches anxiously, fearing that a campaign meant to stop drugs could instead fuel regional instability and human suffering.

Customs officials have intercepted a shipment of over 1,620 live parrots and canaries at Lagos' international airport, bound for Kuwait without the required permits. The birds, including protected ring-necked parakeets and yellow-fronted canaries, were seized during a routine inspection on 31 July. A spokesman said that the airport remains under strict surveillance to prevent illegal trafficking. As a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), Nigeria must ensure such exports have legal documentation, which this shipment did not have. Authorities are investigating those behind the attempted export. The rescued birds were handed over to the National Park Service for rehabilitation. Conservationists view this seizure as a major success in Nigeria’s ongoing struggle against wildlife trafficking. Although the country is a key transit hub due to porous borders, widespread corruption, and weak enforcement, the interception is a sign of positive change in the fight against illegal wildlife trade, which globally generates $8–10 billion annually.

Smuggling networks have been trying to take advantage of the rush to buy medical supplies - including face masks - to tackle the coronavirus epidemic. By the end of April, French police had dismantled a number of such networks, stopped scams and attempted scams to the value of over €30 million, and seized 438,000 masks. In addition, 5.7 million masks ostensibly ordered on the internet have been the subject of a scam or attempted scam. While the crisis has shown the best of ourselves and enabled exceptional acts of solidarity, it has also been an opportunity for some to try to take advantage of the situation, to exploit fear of the disease.