Canada’s diamond industry is at risk of having “blood diamonds” laundered into their diamond industry by organized crime and terrorist organizations, according to the Canadian government.  Form canada.com: The diamond industry in Canada’s Far North is vulnerable to smugglers looking to import “blood diamonds” or launder the proceeds of organized crime syndicates and terrorist organizations, newly released [...]

Last month, Venezuela agreed to send millions of barrels of oil to Colombia to curb the illegal smuggling of gas across the border.  From the AP (via IHT): Venezuela’s Oil Ministry plans to send Colombia’s Norte de Santander state at least 50,000 barrels (8 million liters) of oil a month starting Thursday and could double that supply, [...]

The Governor of Zimbabwe’s Reserve Bank told a conference that 10,000 people were entering Zimbabwe each month to traffic in illegal diamonds.  From The Herald (via AllAfrica.com): Over 10 000 people from all over the world are visiting the eastern border town of Mutare every month for illegal activities involving diamonds, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon [...]

The FBI searched the Washington office of Global Fishing, a company founded by an alleged illegal fisherman from Russia.  From the Seattle Times: FBI and federal fisheries agents on Wednesday searched the Bellevue office of Global Fishing, whose founder Arkadi Gontmakher is currently detained in Moscow and charged by the Russian government with trafficking in black-market king [...]

The 121 tons is the equivalent of the tusks from 11,000 elephants.  Source: “Round the horn,” The Economist, July 19, 2008, pg. 68.

Organized Crime groups in Canada are creating a new market in the trafficking of electronic trash such as used computers and cell phones.  From the Globe and Mail: The growing amount of laptops, portable phones and other electronics being tossed away in Canada is creating new trafficking opportunities for organized crime, the country’s law-enforcement officials are predicting. The [...]

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 [...]

German Customs Officials are starting to use dogs specially trained to identify plants and wildlife in an attempt to stamp out smuggling. From the AP (via MSNBC): Getting any living thing but yourself past border police at Frankfurt Airport just got tougher. Amy, a German shepherd, and Uno, a Labrador retriever, have joined the team at one of [...]

Due to increased government intervention, petrol smuggling into Cambodia from Vietnam is down 80 percent since the start of the year. From VietNamNet: Fuel prices in Cambodia increased to 1.5 USD per litre, 5,000 VND (0.3 USD) higher than those in Vietnam . Most of the smuggling took place at night and sometimes during the day, usually by [...]

Louisiana is set to become the last state in America to ban cockfighting. From the AP (via Google News): On Friday, Louisiana will become the last state to outlaw the rooster fights, a move that cockfighting enthusiasts say marks the end of a rich rural tradition. “The culture, the custom of the Cajun people, it’s gone,” said Chris [...]