Hi and welcome back to the 25th issue of Spotlight, a fortnightly collection of news, articles, and events about organised crime and corruption curated by Firm UK.
Every two weeks a collective of experts, academics, and volunteers will select a few relevant articles and/or events that will help you to understand our society under the hood.
As it clearly emerged many times in various contexts already, organised crime infiltrates everything. The latest WNISR highlights fraud and corruption among other things in the nuclear sector.
We also suggest a great piece on collecting data and one about how yachts might be involved in the global cocaine trade.
We hope you enjoy Spotlight. And if you like it, please share it with your network and invite them to subscribe.
Thank you!
Organised crime goes nuclear
The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2021 (WNISR) is the work of 13 interdisciplinary experts from across the world. In broad terms, the report notes that nuclear power has been stagnant for 30 years. Nuclear power's contribution to the global electricity supply has fallen from a peak of 17.5 per cent in 1996 to 10.1 per cent in 2020 - a 4.3 per cent share of global commercial primary energy consumption. Instead, renewables reached an estimated 29 per cent share of global electricity generation in 2020, a record share.
WNISR notes that previous reports have covered irregularities, fraud, counterfeiting, corruption, and other criminal activities in the nuclear sector. This year's report dedicates a chapter to nuclear criminality and includes 14 case studies with serious implications - including safety and public governance - that came to trial in the period 2010-2020.
The report states:
"A stunning number of revelations in recent years on irregularities, fraud, counterfeiting, bribery, corruption, sabotage, theft, and other criminal activities in the nuclear industry in various countries suggest that there is a systemic issue of 'criminal energy' in the sector. …Organized crime organizations have been supplying workers to nuclear sites - e.g. the Yakuza in Japan - for over a decade”.
Collecting data on extremists who did not become terrorists
What are the differences between extremists who use terrorist violence and those who do not? Whereas extremism is a way of thinking, terrorism is a behaviour.
Most people with extremist views never turn thoughts into violent action and those that do, do not necessarily choose terrorism. Extremism can also inspire other forms of political violence such as coup attempts or infiltration of democratic institutions with the aim of abolishing them.
This brief blog spot based on a multi-year research project discusses the difficulties of doing research on individuals on account of them not having done something.
Colombia, Mexico Police Commanders Partnered with DEA and Drug Groups
Two top police commanders in Colombia and Mexico have shared sensitive information with drug traffickers while working with the US Drug Enforcement Administration.
This article provides some context to the facts and argues that the officer's actions fit a pattern of corruption within the Agency’s Sensitive Investigative Units that have led to kidnappings, murders and civilians being killed in the region.
“I Don’t Know What I Would Even Call It Meth Anymore”
This long-read article offers a unique insight into the market of methamphetamines, a drug that - since 10 years ago when it last boomed - has drastically changed, chemically and business-wise.
The article’s narrative is the one of Joe Bozenko, a DEA agent who has developed an expertise on synthetic drugs. Various methods of producing meth are discussed in the article, linking them to different ways of production as they were preferred and are developed by different groups, such as Hells Angels, in a variety of labs.
As the article takes the reader from meth labs explosions in Jalisco, Mexico in 2006 to ‘criminal masterminds’ in rural areas of San Diego, the rise of Mexican groups in the meth business is described as a story of successful entrepreneurialism with high levels of production and logistic adjustments to have the market flourish. The last part of the article questions the social effects of old and new versions of meth (called P2P).
“Mitchell told me that the most visible homelessness - people sleeping on sidewalks, or in the tents that now crowds many of the neighbourhoods in LA - was clearly due to the new meth”.
How Yachts Contribute to Trans-Atlantic Cocaine Trade
In 2021, a string of seizures has shown how commonly yachts and sailboats are used to move cocaine to Europe. Similar seizures have been made in the waters of the United Kingdom, mainland Spain and the Canary Islands.
In recent years, drug traffickers have been confident enough in their maritime routes to dispatch multi-ton cocaine shipments across the Atlantic, despite the risk of losing hundreds of millions of dollars in cargo if detected by authorities. However, cargo ship drug busts have been on the rise.
The use of yachts or other sailboats makes it significantly more difficult for law enforcement to track shipments and reduces the quantity of cocaine seized at a time.
Events and webinars
We would also like to suggest the following events:
Mozambique’s al-Shabab insurgency, and local and international responses
On November 9, the Brookings Institution’s Africa Security Initiative and Initiative on Nonstate Armed Actors will host an online panel on Mozambique’s al-Shabab insurgency and local and international responsesOnline discussion: 'The Dark Forces of Illicit Trade'
As a partner of United to Safeguard America from Illegal Trade (USA-IT), ICAIE will host an in-depth discussion on illegal trade and its nexus to other crimes, as well as a dialogue on best practices for countering these converging security threats.
Books, podcasts & more
[PODCAST] Will Fitzgibbon on the work of the ICIJ uncovering the Pandora Papers
Will Fitzgibbon, senior reporter at the International Consortium of Investigative Journalist (ICJ) talks about the largest collaborative journalistic efforts on the Pandora Papers, revealing “inner workings of a shadow economy that benefits the wealthy and well-connected at the expense of everyone else.”Brazil: The Special Issue
“Crime Beyond Borders” is a podcast series that delves into the cutting-edge research found in the Journal of Illicit Economies and Development (JIED), led by the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), published by the LSE Press. First episode: The illicit markets in Brazil, their connections with legal activities and the institutional responses.