Source: Daniel Wallis, “Piracy ransoms funding Somalia insurgency,” Reuters, August 24, 2008.

The BBC has an report on oil smuggling in the Nigerian Delta. From the BBC: Under cover of night dozens of barges queue up to dock at a jetty in a creek somewhere in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta. Their holds are filled with stolen oil running from valves illegally installed into a pipeline. Full, they chug downstream to meet [...]

Source:  Sarah Touahri, “ Morocco cracks down on piracy,“ Magharebia, October 10, 2006.

Source: John Kariuki, ” New counterfeit law proposes $20,000 fine for offenders” , East African, May 30, 2005.

Due to the rise in violence from the disputed elections in Kenya, teenage girls are working as prostitutes for $3 an hour to survive the collapsed economy. From the AP (via Yahoo News): Prostitution and sexual exploitation are on the rise in the wake of the violence, which killed more than 1,000 people, eviscerated the economy and [...]

US Intelligence Officials are worried that human smuggling rings could bring in terrorists into the United States. From the AP (Via Google News): In the 12 months that ended last Sept. 30, U.S. officials caught 372 East Africans trying to get into the country, the assessment said. This is the most from these countries since the Homeland [...]

The Los Angeles Times has a report on sex slaves being held in bases in Zimbabwe. From the LA Times: She has to call the young men her “comrades.” She cooks food for the comrades and serves them. She sweeps the comrades’ floor and cleans up after them. And whenever any of the comrades want sex, she is [...]

Gunman in Somalia kidnapped 5 people in another act that shows the growing trade of kidnapping in the country. From Reuters: Kidnapping is lucrative business in Somalia, with hostages generally treated well in anticipation of a large ransom. But the attacks are hampering the operations of aid agencies at a time when U.N. officials say Somalia ranks as [...]

The Uganda Army has been accused of trafficking arms in Somalia, according to a UN Investigator. From the Voice of America: The spokesman for the Ugandan army, Major Paddy Ankunda, tells VOA that soldiers selected to participate in the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM, are the finest in the Ugandan military. He says allegations [...]

Guinea-Bissau, a small West African Country, is becoming a major hub for the cocaine route between Colombia and Europe.  From the Washington Post:  Guinea-Bissau, one of the world’s poorest nations, has become a major transshipment hub and the epicenter in Africa for the cocaine trade, according to U.S., European and U.N. officials. The shift demonstrates how the flow of [...]