InSight Crime

Latin American Drug Traffickers Evade Authorities With Unmanned Vessels and Chemical Innovations

In recent years, Latin American drug networks have increasingly adopted sophisticated methods to evade detection, including the use of unmanned vessels and chemical transformation of cocaine.
August 12, 2024

How Yachts Contribute to Trans-Atlantic Cocaine Trade

A yacht, found off the coast of Portugal with the country's largest-ever haul of cocaine, illustrates how these smaller, private vessels have become a favoured modus operandi to move cocaine between..
October 29, 2021

Migrant Smuggling Routes, Hideouts in Colombia's Indigenous Lands

The recent dismantling of a migrant smuggling ring in Colombia has revealed the routes, corruption networks and modus operandi used to move thousands of migrants through the country.
October 14, 2021

Ecuador: The New Corridor for South American Arms Trafficking

As Ecuador reels from its worst prison massacre, military intelligence has recently revealed a flow of arms from Chile and Peru into Ecuador along its southern border, highlighting the country's key..
October 13, 2021

South Africa Raises Profile as Cocaine Trafficking Hub

South Africa has made a rapid succession of large cocaine seizures in recent months, illuminating how the country and region now play a significant role as transit points for Latin American cocaine.
September 28, 2021

Cargo Ships Act as Trans-Atlantic Drug Carriers

Police in Brazil have broken up a smuggling ring that had a curious modus operandi. For years, its divers strapped cocaine to the hulls of cargo ships departing for Europe, an increasingly popular..
September 17, 2021
3 Min Read

Weapons Traffickers Target Chile's Port of Iquique

After a seizure of disassembled guns found in vehicles shipped from the United States to Chile, a prosecutor warned that the South American country – not typically a hub for illegal firearms – had..
August 18, 2021
4 Min Read

Fishermen Fight Off Pirate Attacks in Ecuador

Fishermen in Ecuador have taken matters into their own hands to combat pirate attacks that have long plagued the nation's coastal provinces.
July 07, 2021