Criminal groups that once focused primarily on the cocaine trade are now diversifying into illegal gold mining, logging, and the wildlife trade - activities that are devastating the environment.

The Amazon’s tri-border region (where Brazil, Colombia, and Peru meet) has become a hotbed for trafficking. The neighboring cities of Leticia and Tabatinga lie at its center, caught in a violent turf war between Brazil’s two largest criminal organizations: the Red Command and the PCC. Both are vying for control of the Amazon’s highly profitable illicit markets.

Speaker: Gabriel Funari, Amazon Basin Coordinator at GI-TOC

Host: Thin Lei Win, Investigative Journalist and Podcast Host

👉 Learn more: ocindex.net

📖 Read the report: globalinitiative.net/analysis/illicit-frontiers-criminal-governance-in-the-amazons-tri-border-region

Organized criminal gangs were deployed by politicians to counter peaceful protests in Nairobi in June, triggering worries of violence in Kenya ahead of the 2027 general elections.

On June 25, gangs unleashed terror on people, who took to the streets in a peaceful march to commemorate the lives of 60 people who were killed one year earlier, in a historic Gen Z uprising against punitive taxes. Just a week earlier, on June 18, gangs had also violently confronted protesters demanding justice for Alfred Ojwang, a 31-year-old teacher and political blogger who died in police custody. While mainstream media calls them "hired goons", evidence shows these were organised gangs, funded and protected by powerful politicians to silence dissent.

We speak to Ken Opala, who went out and talked to police, gang members, and security officials about what happened - and who was really behind it.

Check out Ken's article: Ghosts of violence past: Hired gangs unleashed on demonstrators in Nairobi

Learn more about criminality in Kenya on the Global Organized Crime Index.

Hosted by Thin Lei Win.

Celso Gamboa Sanchez, a former security minister and judge from Costa Rica, was arrested in June 2025 on international drug-trafficking charges. He denies the allegations.

What makes the arrest interesting is that the federal indictment filed by the US included a request for his extradition. This is something which was only made possible in May 2025 when Costa Rica's constitution was amended so that nationals could be extradited to the US (or other countries with bilateral agreements) on in international drug trafficking and terrorism charges.

Costa Rica has long been seen as one of the more "stable" countries in Costa Rica. But that image is beginning to change. In 2023 the country fell into the "high criminality" category on the Organized Crime Index, after having previously been considered "low criminality" in 2021.

We explore how criminality is changing in the country, and what is being done about it.

🎙 Featuring Mauricio Vieria, Chair on Countering Illicit Trade and Preventing Transnational Organized Crime, University for Peace

🎤 Hosted by Thin Lei Win

🔗 Learn more at ocindex.net

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, cyber scams have surged across the Mekong region. Abandoned casinos and hotels have been turned into “scam compounds” serving as bases for romance scams, fake call centres, Ponzi schemes, and voice-phishing operations. These schemes have tricked hundreds of people to transfer money into mule accounts.

But the problem goes far deeper. Criminal networks are profiting from tax evasion, smuggling, and large-scale embezzlement.

In 2024, Vietnamese billionaire Truong My Lan was sentenced to death (since converted to life in prison) for embezzling $12 billion from the Saigon Commercial Bank.

But what’s driving the rise in financial crime across Southeast Asia? And what connects these cases?

🎙 Featuring BC Tan, Managing Director and Head of Investigations for Southeast Asia at Kroll

🎤 Hosted by Thin Lei Win

🔗 Learn more at ocindex.net

This podcast has been funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The views expressed in this publication are the author's alone and are not necessarily the views of the Australian Government.

Underworlds with Mark Shaw is returning for another season.

Mark sits down with authors to discuss their investigations into the murky world of organized crime.

In season two, we hear about a range of stories such as money laundering and cryptocurrency; the 'Ndrangheta's expansion from Calabria, Italy to other countries of Europe.

Also the story of a leading South African police officer, who was tasked with investigating the Italian mafia in South Africa by Nelson Mandela.

A fascinating story about one of the largest frauds in the history of the maritime industry. The growth and evolution of ransomware market, and finally a history of modern Russia told through the stories of four very different criminals.

The series is hosted by Mark Shaw, the Director of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. Mark is also an author of a number of books on organized crime in South Africa.

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🎧Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0spSX0QUq7j0NmIZOqyDTZQ

🎧The Index - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0uc_4CftGl8PrwHA3IK5WeI

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Millions of unregistered firearms, surging drug addiction, and cross-border trafficking have turned Pakistan into a hotspot for organized crime. Corruption and economic instability have allowed illicit markets — from heroin to weapons — to flourish.

Terrorist groups like the Tehrik-e-Taliban are thriving in this landscape, carrying out deadly attacks and deepening insecurity.

And in the midst of this unrest, a suicide bombing in Pahalgam that killed 26 Indian tourists has reignited military tensions with India — adding fuel to the long-standing conflict over Indian-administered Kashmir.

According to the OC Index, arms trafficking in Pakistan is only getting worse - the criminal market scored 8.5 out of 10 in 2023, an increase of 0.5 from 2021 – placing it alongside the likes of Russia, Mexico, Turkey and others.

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Speaker(s): Paddy Ginn, Senior Analyst, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

Links:

Pakistan Country Profile

The Global Organized Crime Index

The full-scale war in Ukraine has been raging for three years now. One of the defining military developments during this conflict has been the use of drones. And both sides have utilised them with devastating effect.

These include the small drone operators dropping bombs on unsuspecting troops to the Iranian-designed Shahed kamikaze drones smashing into residential buildings in Ukrainian cities.

In Russia, where many people have been drafted into the military, the country has seen a labour shortage in key industries that support its war machine. One such industry is the manufacture of Shahed drones, which are now built in Russia.

In 2023, reports about the people building these drones emerged, first in the Russian media, and then in an investigation by the Associated Press. The AP investigation revealed that Russian drone manufacturers had been falsely recruiting young women from a number of African countries, such as Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria – to work in a drone factory located in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Russia’s Tatarstan.

The young women applied through an online advertisement called ‘Alabuga Start’, which falsely advertised a work-study program in industries like catering or hospitality and offered free plane tickets and money. But the workers are unaware of the reality where they were put to work in factories building drones that would be launched against Ukraine.

According to the Global Organized Crime Index – labour exploitation and false recruitment practices fall under human trafficking, as it involves “a form of coercion, deception, abduction or fraud” – and Eastern Africa leads globally for the most pervasive human trafficking market (with a score of 7.78 out of 10).

6 out of the 9 countries in the region, roughly 67%, score eight or higher for Human Trafficking and is only equalled in the region by arms trafficking.

Russia itself has relatively high levels as well, at 7.5 out of 10.

This episode will address concerns around the example of Alabuga Start and whether or not it is an example of human trafficking.

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Speaker(s): Julia Stanyard, Senior Analyst, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

Links

Paper - Who is making Russia's drones? The migrant women exploited for Russia's war economy

Russia Country Profile

Ukraine Country Profile

South Africa Country Profile

Uganda Country Profile

Kenya Country Profile

Rwanda Country Profile

South Sudan Country Profile

Nigeria Country Profile

Sierra Leone Country Profile

The...

In August 2024, King Mohammed VI pardoned over 4800 Cannabis farmers in Morocco. This came as part of the country’s wider legalization efforts to tap into the economic potential of the booming global cannabis market.

Morocco is one of the world's leading cannabis producers, and in 2021 it approved a bill regulating cannabis cultivation for medical, pharmaceutical and industrial purposes.

According to the Global Organized Crime Index, this step towards better regulation has contributed to Morocco’s increased resilience score for National Policies and Laws from 6.0 to 6.5.

However, the vast majority of Morocco's territorial areas of cultivation remain in the hands of the illicit economy. With a score of 9 out of 10, Morocco currently sits at the top of the OC Index for Cannabis Trade.

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Speaker(s): Raouf Farrah, Senior Analyst, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

Links

Webinar - Morocco’s regularization of cannabis production: Anticipated impacts on the illicit cannabis economy

Morocco Country Profile

The Global Organized Crime Index

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime