Every year, the counterfeit pharmaceutical market generates up to $400 billion — dwarfing the global street drug trade. But the danger isn't just financial. Fake medicines may contain no active ingredients, toxic contaminants, or unregulated chemicals — and most people have no idea they're taking them. In this episode of The Index, we speak with Oksana Pyzik, Associate Professor at UCL School of Pharmacy and founder of its Fight the Fakes Collaborating Centre, about the growing threat of counterfeit pharmaceuticals: who's buying them, who's producing them, and why criminal networks are increasingly choosing fake medicines over street drugs.

Scam call centres are no longer the work of lone fraudsters. They are sophisticated, hierarchical operations embedded within transnational organized crime networks. In Eurasia, tens of thousands of people are estimated to work in these centres, targeting victims across Europe and beyond, and siphoning money through cryptocurrency mixers, money mules, and shell companies. In this episode of The Index, Brian Lee, Head of Program for the Observatory of Illicit Economies in Eurasia at GI-TOC, breaks down how these operations are structured, who works in them, and why Eurasia has become a key hub for financial crime.🔗 Explore the Global Organized Crime Index for free: ocindex.net

South Africa has deployed its military to combat gang violence and illegal mining under President Cyril Ramaphosa's Operation Prosper, targeting hotspots in the Western Cape and Gauteng. But is armed force a genuine solution or just a short-term fix? Mark Shaw, Executive Director of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GITOC), joins the Index podcast to break down what Operation Prosper means for South Africa, how it compares to past military deployments and global examples like El Salvador and Guatemala, and what success or failure will actually look like.To learn more about organized crime in South Africa, visit the Organized Crime Index: ocindex.net

Synthetic drugs are reshaping the global drug market.Faster to produce, easier to move, and harder to regulate.This video unpacks the 2025 Global Organized Crime Index findings and expert insights on how fentanyl, methamphetamine, “kush,” and other synthetics are proliferating worldwide. From overdoses in North America’s to West Africa’s state-of-emergency responses, we explore why traditional, geography-based drug policies no longer fit today’s reality; and what cross-sector, cross-border solutions could work.Host:Thin Lei Win - Investigative Journalist and Podcast HostGuests:Jason Eligh - Senior Expert on Drugs and Drug Markets Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized CrimeCecilia Farfán-Méndez - Head of the North American Observatory, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized CrimeH.E. Matilda Aku Alomatu Osei-Agyeman - Permanent Representative of Ghana to the United Nations (Vienna) Learn more: ocindex.net

In January 2024, Fiji recorded the Pacific’s largest methamphetamine seizure of over four tons bound for Australia. If sold there, the drugs would have had an estimated street value up to 1.2 billion Australian dollars. This episode of The Index unpacks how Fiji has become a key transit hub and takes a closer look at the emerging domestic market, the role of foreign criminal networks and the devastating impacts on Fijian society, including a tenfold rise in HIV cases over the past decade. Guests: Virginia Comolli, Head of Pacific Programme, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime Sesenieli Naitala, Survival Advocacy Network - Fiji Host: Thin Lei Win Learn more: Global Organized Crime Index — ocindex.net Subscribe for more analysis on global organized crime trends.

A deadly turf war is unfolding inside Italy’s fast fashion supply chain. In April 2025, Chinese gangster Zhang Dayong was shot dead in Rome, an alleged professional hit linked by investigators to rival syndicates battling for control of logistics, transport, and even clothes hangers. Because in an industry that moves millions of units, shaving a few cents per piece translates into massive profits and power.Senior Analyst Ruggero Scaturro (Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime) explains how Chinese criminal networks built near monopolies over road transport and warehousing, the landmark “China Truck” operation led from Florence, and why these groups are now recognized in Italy as mafia-style organizations. We explore their role in counterfeit goods, informal banking, intimidation, and how they cooperate functionally with Italian mafias like the ’Ndrangheta and Camorra. The episode also looks at the epicenter around Prato, the challenges of infiltration and interpretation, and what rising violence says about who really controls Europe’s fast fashion backbone.Chapters00:00:00 - Italy’s “War of Hangers”00:00:32 - The hanger market: economics, logistics monopoly, rising violence00:02:31 - What “War of Hangers” means in the fast-fashion ecosystem00:03:02 - The Dayong shooting and the Zhang Naizhong case00:03:33 - Operation “China Truck”: transport monopoly and mafia-style structure00:04:45 - Foreign criminal actors in Italy00:09:00 - Counterfeit markets in Italy: scope and impact00:12:26 - How Chinese criminals gain controlGuest: Ruggiero Scaturro, Senior Analyst, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized CrimeHost: Thin Lei Win Learn more: Global Organized Crime Index — ocindex.netSubscribe for more analysis on global organized crime trends.

Criminal groups that once focused primarily on the cocaine trade are now diversifying into illegal gold mining, logging, and the wildlife trade - activities that are devastating the environment.The Amazon’s tri-border region (where Brazil, Colombia, and Peru meet) has become a hotbed for trafficking. The neighboring cities of Leticia and Tabatinga lie at its center, caught in a violent turf war between Brazil’s two largest criminal organizations: the Red Command and the PCC. Both are vying for control of the Amazon’s highly profitable illicit markets.Speaker: Gabriel Funari, Amazon Basin Coordinator at GI-TOCHost: Thin Lei Win, Investigative Journalist and Podcast Host👉 Learn more: ocindex.net 📖 Read the report: globalinitiative.net/analysis/illicit-frontiers-criminal-governance-in-the-amazons-tri-border-region

Organized criminal gangs were deployed by politicians to counter peaceful protests in Nairobi in June, triggering worries of violence in Kenya ahead of the 2027 general elections. On June 25, gangs unleashed terror on people, who took to the streets in a peaceful march to commemorate the lives of 60 people who were killed one year earlier, in a historic Gen Z uprising against punitive taxes. Just a week earlier, on June 18, gangs had also violently confronted protesters demanding justice for Alfred Ojwang, a 31-year-old teacher and political blogger who died in police custody. While mainstream media calls them "hired goons", evidence shows these were organised gangs, funded and protected by powerful politicians to silence dissent. We speak to Ken Opala, who went out and talked to police, gang members, and security officials about what happened - and who was really behind it.Check out Ken's article: Ghosts of violence past: Hired gangs unleashed on demonstrators in NairobiLearn more about criminality in Kenya on the Global Organized Crime Index.Hosted by Thin Lei Win.

Celso Gamboa Sanchez, a former security minister and judge from Costa Rica, was arrested in June 2025 on international drug-trafficking charges. He denies the allegations.What makes the arrest interesting is that the federal indictment filed by the US included a request for his extradition. This is something which was only made possible in May 2025 when Costa Rica's constitution was amended so that nationals could be extradited to the US (or other countries with bilateral agreements) on in international drug trafficking and terrorism charges. Costa Rica has long been seen as one of the more "stable" countries in Costa Rica. But that image is beginning to change. In 2023 the country fell into the "high criminality" category on the Organized Crime Index, after having previously been considered "low criminality" in 2021. We explore how criminality is changing in the country, and what is being done about it.🎙 Featuring Mauricio Vieria, Chair on Countering Illicit Trade and Preventing Transnational Organized Crime, University for Peace🎤 Hosted by Thin Lei Win🔗 Learn more at ocindex.net

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, cyber scams have surged across the Mekong region. Abandoned casinos and hotels have been turned into “scam compounds” serving as bases for romance scams, fake call centres, Ponzi schemes, and voice-phishing operations. These schemes have tricked hundreds of people to transfer money into mule accounts.But the problem goes far deeper. Criminal networks are profiting from tax evasion, smuggling, and large-scale embezzlement. In 2024, Vietnamese billionaire Truong My Lan was sentenced to death (since converted to life in prison) for embezzling $12 billion from the Saigon Commercial Bank.But what’s driving the rise in financial crime across Southeast Asia? And what connects these cases?🎙 Featuring BC Tan, Managing Director and Head of Investigations for Southeast Asia at Kroll🎤 Hosted by Thin Lei Win🔗 Learn more at ocindex.netThis podcast has been funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The views expressed in this publication are the author's alone and are not necessarily the views of the Australian Government.