“Digging for Gold in Import-Export Data” with Bellingcat's Katherine de Tolly

About this episode

Katherine de Tolly discusses the intricacies of investigating import-export data, focusing on opioid shipments from India to West Africa.

In the final Stage Talk of the year, we learnt the mechanics of investigating trade data thanks to this week's guest, Bellingcat research consultant and self-confessed data nerd Katherine de Tolly. Using the example of opioid shipments from India to West Africa, Katherine talked us through the intricacies of import-export data and how to navigate the many data gaps/inconsistencies inherit in the system. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday December 4th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat Links mentioned: Katherine's slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1JvDqFnM-caIPo39ez3aennGa9iwB-NwWPh9VXAKUFgg/edit?usp=sharing You can contact Katherine on: kdetolly@gmail.com Money channel in Discord: https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/710247961426395186 Comtrade: https://comtradeplus.un.org/TradeFlow 52WMB: https://en.52wmb.com/ BBC investigation: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyew21yyjzo

People in this episode

Host: Charlotte Maher

Guest: Katherine de Tolly

Topics covered

• import-export data
• trade data investigation
• opioid shipments
• data gaps
• data analysis

Keywords

• import-export data
• trade investigation
• opioid shipments
• data analysis
• Bellingcat

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bellingcat

Places: India, West Africa

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