Users of cocaine are destroying the rainforest, according to law enforcement officials. From the Guardian: Four square metres of rainforest are destroyed for every gram of cocaine snorted in the UK, a conference of senior police officers as told yesterday. Francisco Santos Calderón, the vice-president of Colombia, appealed to British users of the class A drug to consider [...]

According to a business group in Italy, the Mafia is the biggest business in Italy. From ABC News: Organized crime is the biggest business in Italy, according to the latest study by the country’s shopkeepers association, Confesercenti. That Italy’s mafias do a booming business, particularly the drug-related variety, is common knowledge. But the effect on the country’s legitimate [...]

Russia’s plan to build a city dedicated to gambling is hitting a snag due to the global financial crisis, leading some to worry that a black market in illegal gambling could emerge. From USA Today: Russia’s grandiose scheme to build a Las Vegas from scratch in 18 months is turning into a sour bet because of the [...]

France’s Senate has passed a three strikes law would cut off Internet access for people who continue to download unlicensed music. From the Hollywood Reporter: France is on a collision course with the EU after the French Senate overwhelmingly voted for an Internet piracy law that directly contradicts European Parliament legislation. The Senate’s “three strikes” or “graduated response” [...]

Counterfeit drugs are being smuggled into the United Kingdom, jeopardizing the lives of millions of patients. From the Independent: Packets of fake pills are being smuggled into high-street chemists and sold as real medicines that prevent heart attacks or fight cancer, putting the lives of millions of British patients at risk. Criminal gangs that cut their teeth [...]

The Foreign Ministry of Russia strongly stated that its nuclear weapons were safe from being trafficked. From the AP (via the Washington Post): Russia insisted Friday its nuclear arsenal is secure, angrily rejecting U.S. allegations that tens of thousands of aging Soviet weapons may not be fully accounted for. The Foreign Ministry described U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ [...]

The suppliers of up to half of Western Europe’s heroin was convicted of drug trafficking. From the AP (via the Washington Post): Two brothers from Kosovo were convicted Thursday of running a massive drug smuggling ring that prosecutors said supplied Western Europe with up to half of its heroin. Ragip and Kemal Shabani channeled 1.5 tons of heroin [...]

After a recent high-profile killing, Croatia faces questions regarding its ability to confront organized crime within its borders. From Time Magazine: The damage from last Thursday’s bomb-blast in downtown Zagreb that killed Ivo Pukanic, one of Croatia’s top media moguls, and his advertising manager Niko Franic, will not be confined to the casualties. The attack has cast [...]

Over 200,000 people have signed a petition in support of author Roberto Saviano, who is reportedly being targeted for death by Italian organized crime figures. From the Guardian: The petition, on the website of Italian paper La Repubblica, was prompted by an open letter to the paper from Nobel laureates Günter Grass, Orhan Pamuk, Mikhail Gorbachev, Dario [...]

The Vatican was forced to defend the Pope’s silence after he failed to mention organized crime in a recent trip to Southern Italy. From the Toronto Star: The Vatican yesterday defended Pope Benedict’s decision to avoid direct condemnation of organized crime during a trip to a southern area infested by the Camorra, one of its most ruthless [...]