The rapid and tumultuous economic development of African countries, when not accompanied by a parallel improvement in governance and the welfare system, can produce distortions and contribute to the proliferation of phenomena of instability. Among these, the growth of organized crime is one of the most dangerous due to its social transversality, economic pollution and ability to negatively influence politics. Authentic African “mafias” control illicit trafficking and illegal businesses worth billions of dollars, manage human trafficking on a continental and international level and are able to co-opt rebel militias to destabilize local governments. Furthermore, in recent years, they have developed a stable and widespread presence also abroad, from Europe to the United States, posing a direct security challenge to European governments, including the Italian one. The project aims to deepen the current geography and the capacitive spectrum of criminal organizations in West Africa in order to highlight the vulnerabilities of the law enforcement and prevention system used by local governments. Furthermore, the project offers policy recommendations to improve the level of bilateral Italian-African and multilateral Euro-African cooperation in order to deal with the problem in a synergistic way and to develop joint tools for preventing and combating organized crime.