Environmental Threats - Havocscope - Global Black Markets

Illegal caviar seizures in the EU

The Independent reported that ” EU countries imported 591 tonnes of caviar in 2006, but seizures of illegal caviar between 2000 and 2005 totaled just 12 tonnes.”

Illegal caviar seizures in the EU

The Independent reported that ” EU countries imported 591 tonnes of caviar in 2006, but seizures of illegal caviar between 2000 and 2005 totaled just 12 tonnes.”

Profit From Illegal Oil Smuggling in Iraq in 2007

According to a report in The Guardian, a smuggling organization in Iraq is estimated to make about $5 million a week from smuggling oil.

Profits from Smuggling Ends Up in Hands of Insurgents

40 to 50 percent of the profits from gas smuggling is believed to end up in the hands of insurgents.

Sales of Stolen Oil in Nigeria in 2007

In 2007, up to 100,000 barrels of oil was sold everyday by oil smugglers in Nigeria.

Value of Fuel Smuggled out of Iraq in 2005

$4 billion worth of gas was smuggled out of Iraq in 2005.

Diamond Smuggling in the Ivory Coast

Diamond smuggling in the Ivory Coast leads to $23 Million worth of diamonds to leave the country each year.

20 percent of Sierra Leone's diamonds were being smuggled out of the country in 2005

Source: Tristan McConnell, “Fighting diamond smuggling in Africa,” Christian Science Monitor, July 30, 2007,(accessed: July 31, 2007).

99.8 percent of world's diamonds are being certified as legitimate

Officials from Botswana, the world’s biggest producer of high-quality minerals, reported to participants of the Kimberley Process that 99.8 percent of the world’s diamonds are being certified as legitimate. (Environmental Crimes around the world.) Source: Moabi Phia, “Watchdog urged to crack down on Cote d’Ivoire,” Mail & Guardian Online, November 6, 2006,(accessed: November 13, 2006).

Venezuela has officially exported 0 diamonds

Although Venezuela is estimated to produce 150,000 carets of diamonds annually, it has officially exported none since 2005.