Organised Crime

Cocaine use has risen across Europe, study shows

Cocaine use has increased across Europe, an EU-wide wastewater study showed on Wednesday, with the highest levels of residues found in Belgium, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands. The study, the…

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Mafia boss asks judge to order seizure of Roberto Saviano book

Giuseppe Graviano, a Sicilian Mafia boss who is serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison has asked a court to seize a book by Roberto Saviano, claiming inaccuracies…

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UPDATE – U.S. kills al Qaeda leader Zawahiri in Kabul drone missile strike

KABUL/WASHINGTON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - The United States killed al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri with a drone missile while he stood on a balcony at his home in Kabul, U.S. officials said,…

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How the CIA identified and killed Al-Qaeda leader Zawahiri

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in a U.S. strike in Afghanistan over the weekend, the biggest blow to the militant group since its founder Osama…

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EU warns of rising narcotics production in Europe as new drugs hit market

Narcotics production is growing in Europe, according to an estimate published on Tuesday by the EU drugs agency, which warned of a proliferation of new psychoactive substances being sold and…

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UK police name Liverpool taxi blast suspect

British police have identified the suspect behind an explosion which engulfed a taxi in flames outside a hospital in Liverpool on Sunday, a blast the authorities have declared a terrorist incident. Police say…

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Policeman survives knife attack in Cannes

A policeman survived a knife attack in the French Riviera city of Cannes on Monday, with media quoting a police source as saying the assailant had said he was acting "in the…

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More than 150 arrested in global crackdown on Darknet traders: Dutch media

At least 150 people have been arrested by European and U.S. authorities after a joint crackdown on traders of drugs, weapons and other illicit goods on darknet e-commerce sites, Dutch media reported Tuesday citing…

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Sweden to widen police data-access powers to fight gang violence

Sweden plans to give police greater powers to access data from mobile phones as it bids to rein in a surge in gang-related violence plaguing its major cities, the government said on…

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Liverpool pays tribute to the 39 football fans who on this day, 36 years ago died in Heysel stadium

Liverpool FC remembers the 39 football fans who lost their lives at Heysel Stadium in Belgium on this day 36 years ago. 36 years ago football experienced one of the…

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U.S. arrests wife of Mexico cartel chief El Chapo on drug charges

The wife of Mexican drug cartel boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman was arrested and charged in the United States on Monday with helping her husband continue to run his drug trafficking cartel while…

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Cocaine: falling coffee prices force Peru’s farmers to cultivate coca

A slump in world coffee prices has pushed farmers in Peru’s central jungle to rip up their plants and replace them with coca leaf – the raw material used in…

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Interpol warns that COVID-19 vaccines could be targeted by criminals

The Interpol global police co-ordination agency warned on Wednesday that organised criminal networks could be targeting COVID-19 vaccines, and could look to sell fake shots. Interpol, which is headquartered in…

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France raises security threat level to highest after Nice attack

France has raised the security alert for French territory to the highest level after the knife attack in the city of Nice, Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Thursday. Castex…

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Suspect in teacher’s beheading in France identified as Chechen teen

A suspect shot dead by police after the beheading of a history teacher near Paris was an 18-year-old Chechen refugee unknown to intelligence services who posted a grisly claim of…

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Major operation breaks Mafia network in Palermo

Italian Police registered a major breakthrough in their fight against Mafia infiltration whith the arrest of 20 people including bosses and members of their clan. The twenty will be facing…

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Anniversary of Halle terror attack commemorated in Germany

People observe a minute of silence at the market place as church bells start to ring at 12:01 in commemoration of the time when the assassin fired the first shot…

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UPDATED: Police in Tunisia shoot dead three suspected militants after officer stabbed

Police in Tunisia chased and shot dead three suspected Islamist militants after they attacked two police officers, killing one of them, in the coastal city of Sousse on Sunday, the…

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Suspected Islamist attack in Berlin

German authorities are investigating a series of car accidents that left several people injured on a Berlin motorway on Tuesday evening as an Islamist attack, prosecutors' spokesman told Focus magazine…

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Glasgow attacker identified as a Sudanese man

Police in Scotland named a man who was shot dead by officers during a knife attack in the city of Glasgow as Badreddin Abadlla Adam, 28, from Sudan. Six people,…

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Maxi anti-mafia operation in Catania leads to over 50 arrests

A vast antimafia operation was carried out in the early hours of the day in the Sicilian city of Catania. Hundreds of police officers, including members of special corps and…

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Maltese Anti-Terrorism Squad arrests Syrian charged for human trafficking

Members of the Police Force's Anti-Terrorism Squad have arrested a 48-year old person of Syrian nationality, following a European Arrest Mandate issued by Hungary. The Syrian has been arrested on…

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Coronavirus pandemic is pushing up the price of illegal drugs

Coronavirus-related border controls, lockdowns and flight shortages are making illegal drugs more expensive and difficult to obtain around the world, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said in…

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Spanish police detain alleged ISIS member believed to be planning attacks

Spanish police detained a suspected ISIS follower who is believed to have been planning terrorist attacks in Barcelona. According to Al Arabiya, the arrested man is a Moroccan man. The…

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European Web Survey on Drugs launched to assess impact of pandemic

A new survey, available in most European languages including Maltese, will gather information on how patterns of drug use, access to health services and the drug market may have changed…

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Germany foils ISIS terrorist attack

German authorities say police have arrested four suspected members of the Islamic State group alleged to be planning an attack on American military facilities. Federal prosecutors said the suspects…

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Cyber criminals threaten to hold hospitals to ransom – Interpol

As hospitals around the world struggle to handle the influx of COVID-19 patients, cyber criminals are threatening to exploit the crisis and hold them to ransom, according to an Interpol…

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Suspected terrorist incident at El Prat airport in Barcelona

A Mossos d'Esquadra police officer (R) stands guard next to a vehicle after its two occupants were detained when they drove the car into the Terminal 1 of El Prat…

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British government tells venue owners to plan for terrorist attacks

British venue owners will have to come up with plans to try to prevent militant attacks and deal with them better if they do happen, the government said on Monday,…

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Germany breaks up a far-right terrorism network

Twelve men — one a police employee — were arrested Friday on charges of forming and supporting a far-right terrorism network planning wide-ranging attacks on politicians, asylum seekers and Muslims,…

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US to seek more help from NATO to counter ISIS

US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday he is looking to NATO allies for more help countering the ISIS extremist group in Iraq and in bolstering U.S. defence efforts in…

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Diplomatique.Expert Edition 21

Pete Buttigieg's Iowa results, the post-Brexit negotiations, Huawei's role in UK and Europe and the lone-wolf terror attacks in this week's edition of the Corporate Dispatch's geopolitical insight publication -…

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ISIS still at ‘centre’ of terrorism threat, UN Security Council hears

Despite the loss of its last stronghold in Syria and the death of its leader, ISIS “remains at the centre of the transnational terrorism threat”, a senior UN official told the Security Council.…

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Al-Qaeda leader in Yemen killed in US strike

The United States has killed the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), President Donald Trump said. Qasim al-Raimi, who has led the jihadist group since 2015, was killed…

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Global initiative launched to keep top sports events safe from terrorism

Representatives from international sporting federations and the private sector joined with ambassadors at UN Headquarters in New York this week to launch a global programme aimed at safeguarding major sporting…

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Australian and two Chinese injured in attack claimed by Isis sympathisers in the Maldives

Three people including an Australian man have been stabbed in the Maldives in an attack claimed by ISIS sympathisers. Police in the South Asian archipelago said the Australian, 44, and…

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ISIS claims responsibility for London stabbing

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the Streatham terror attack. The group issued a generically-worded statement on its official propaganda channels on Monday morning saying the stabbing was carried out by…

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G7 nations falling behind in fight against corruption

The governments of the top world economies are struggling to combat corruption, according to a report Thursday by graft watchdog Transparency International (TI). The annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) saw…

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UN warns of surge in terrorist attacks in Sahel and West Africa

The U.N. envoy for West Africa and the Sahel says the region has experienced "a devastating surge in terrorist attacks against civilian and military targets" in recent months. Mohamed Ibn…

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British police on alert amid rising tensions

Anti-terror police are on alert for any fall-out from the Iran crisis, Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan Commissioner, has disclosed. She said police were monitoring the crisis and were "extremely alert"…

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Nine terror attacks prevented in Germany since Berlin Christmas market killings

Since the 2016 terrorist attack in Berlin's Breitscheidplatz, German authorities have prevented a further nine attacks of a similar nature, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) said. Last month alone, two acts…

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Thousands of serious offences related to marine pollution exposed in global operation

A global law enforcement operation involving 61 countries has identified thousands of illicit activities behind severe marine pollution as well as hundreds of violations and exposed serious cases of contamination…

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Police in Denmark foil terror plot

Police in Denmark have arrested 20 people in connection with suspected preparations for an Islamist terrorist attack. They said several raids were made throughout the country on Wednesday and that…

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Commemoration of the Strasbourg terrorist Christmas market attack

Scenes from the commemorate of the dead of the 2018 terrorist attack at the Christmas market, in Strasbourg, France, 11 December 2019. A year ago, in Strasbourg's city centre, five…

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Al-Baghdadi’s ‘deputy’ captured in northern Iraq

A senior Daesh militant close to the former leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi has been captured in northern Iraq. Police in Huwaijah, Kirkuk province, managed to track down the extremist…

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Poland to honour London bridge hero

Poland says it will award its highest medal for sacrifice and courage to a Polish national who played a key role in preventing the London Bridge attack from escalating. A…

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Dutch police arrest suspect in The Hague stabbing

Dutch police arrested a 35-year-old homeless man Saturday on suspicion of stabbing three teens on a street in The Hague that was crowded with Black Friday shoppers. The man, whose…

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London Bridge attack sparks terrorists’ jail release review

An urgent review of the licence conditions of terrorists freed from prison has been launched by the Ministry of Justice following Friday's London Bridge attack. Two people were killed and…

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Dutch anti-terrorism unit foils terrorist attack in the Netherlands

Two men will appear in court on Thursday charged with preparing a terrorist attack, the public prosecution department has confirmed. One man aged 20 was arrested at his home in…

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ISIS expected to grow ability to target the West, says Pentagon watchdog

The Islamic State is expected to revamp its operations in Syria and is predicted to grow its capability to attack the West — now that U.S. and allied-Syrian Democratic Forces’…

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Pompeo: Anti-ISIS coalition should shift focus to Africa

There is growing concern about the ISIS threat outside of Iraq and Syria, and the coalition fighting the terrorist organization should focus on west Africa and the Sahel region, US Secretary of State Mike…

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Jordanian knife attack victims in stable condition

Two of the eight, among them four tourists and four Jordanians, injured in a Jerash knife attack on Wednesday have been transferred to the King Hussein Medical Centre and are…

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Turkey detains dead ISIS leader’s wife

Turkey has captured a wife of former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced. On Tuesday Turkey said it had detained Baghdadi's sister in Syria. Speaking in…

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ISIS evolved worldwide despite Syria defeat – U.S. State Dept

The global presence of ISIS continued to advance in 2018 through networks and affiliates, the State Department said in its annual terrorism report, even though the Trump administration declared it…

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ISIS names its new leader as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi, confirms al-Baghdadi’s death

ISIS has for the first time confirmed the death of its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and named his successor. An ISIS outlet announced on the messaging service Telegram that Abu…

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ISIS spy who betrayed al-Baghdadi was motivated by revenge

NBC reports that ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi was betrayed by a member of his inner circle who helped lead American troops to his compound in Northern Syria. The commander…

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US releases first video of raid on al Baghdadi compound

Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie briefed Pentagon reporters on the Oct. 26 raid in northwestern Syria that resulted in Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's death. Pentagon officials also released videos of…

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