Illegal Drug Trade
The illegal drug
trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture,
distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through the use of drug prohibition
laws.
The think tank Global Financial
Integrity's Transnational Crime and the Developing World report
estimates the size of the global illicit drug market between US$426 and US$652 billion
in 2014 alone. With a world GDP of US$78 trillion in
the same year, the illegal drug trade may be estimated as nearly 1% of total
global trade. Consumption of illegal drugs is widespread globally and it
remains very difficult for local authorities to thwart its popularity.
History
See also: History of opium
in China
The government of
the Qing Dynasty issued edicts against opium smoking in 1730, 1796 and 1800. The West prohibited addictive drugs throughout
the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Beginning in the 18th century, British merchants from the East India Company began to illegally sell
opium to Chinese merchants, and by the early 19th century, an illegal drug
trade in China emerged. As a result, by 1838 the number of Chinese
opium-addicts had grown to between four and twelve million. The Chinese
government responded by enforcing a ban on the import of opium; this led to the First Opium War (1839-1842) between the United Kingdom and Qing-dynasty China. The British
defeated the Chinese, and in the resulting treaty that ended the war, the Treaty of Nanking, the Qing government was forced to allow British
merchants to sell Indian-grown opium. Trading in opium was lucrative and
smoking it had become common for the Chinese in the 19th century, so British
merchants increased trade with the Chinese. The Second Opium War broke out in 1856, with the British joined this
time by the French. The Treaty of Tianjin, which concluded that conflict,
stipulated that the Chinese authorities would open further ports to foreign
trade, including opium.
In 1868, as a result of the increased
use of opium in Britain, the British government restricted the sale of opium by
implementing the 1868 Pharmacy Act. In the United States, control of opium remained
under the control of individual U.S. states until the introduction of
the Harrison Act in 1914, after 12 international powers signed
the International
Opium Convention in 1912.
Between 1920 and around 1933
the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution banned alcohol
in the United States. Prohibition proved almost impossible to enforce and
resulted in the rise of organized crime, including the modern American Mafia, which identified enormous business opportunities in the
manufacturing, smuggling and sale of illicit liquor.
The beginning of the 21st
century saw drug use increase in North America and Europe, with a particularly
increased demand for marijuana and cocaine. As a result,
international organized crime syndicates such as the Sinaloa Cartel and 'Ndrangheta have increased cooperation
among each other in order to facilitate trans-Atlantic drug-trafficking. Use of another illicit
drug, hashish, has also increased in Europe.
See also: Capital punishment for drug
trafficking
Drug trafficking is widely
regarded by lawmakers as a serious offense around the world. Penalties often
depend on the type of drug (and its classification in the country into which it
is being trafficked), the quantity trafficked, where the drugs are sold and how
they are distributed. If the drugs are sold to underage people, then the
penalties for trafficking may be harsher than in other circumstances.
Drug smuggling carries severe
penalties in many countries. Sentencing may include lengthy periods of
incarceration, flogging and even the death penalty (in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia
and elsewhere). In December 2005, Van Tuong Nguyen, a 25-year-old Australian drug
smuggler, was hanged in Singapore after being convicted in March 2004. In 2010, two people were
sentenced to death in Malaysia for trafficking 1 kilogram (2.2 lb)
of cannabis into the country.[14] Execution is mostly used
as a deterrent, and many have called upon much more effective measures to be
taken by countries to tackle drug trafficking; for example, targeting specific
criminal organizations that are often also active in the smuggling of other
goods (i.e. wildlife) and even people. In many cases, links
between politicians and the criminal organizations have been proven to exist.
In June 2021, Interpol revealed an operation in 92 countries that shut
down 113,000 websites and online marketplaces selling counterfeit or illicit
medicines and medical products a month earlier, led to the arrests of 227
people worldwide, recovered pharmaceutical products worth $23 million, and led
to the seizure of approximately nine million devices and drugs, including large
quantities of fake COVID-19 tests and face masks.
Societal effects
The countries of drug production
and transit are some of the most affected by the trade, though countries
receiving the illegally imported substances are also adversely affected.
For example, Ecuador has absorbed up to 300,000 refugees from Colombia who are
running from guerrillas, paramilitaries and drug lords. While some applied for
asylum, others are still illegal immigrants. The drugs that pass from Colombia
through Ecuador to other parts of South America create economic and social
problems.
Honduras, through which an estimated 79% of cocaine passes on its way to the United States, had,
as of 2011, the highest murder rate in the world. According to the International
Crisis Group, the most violent regions in Central America,
particularly along the Guatemala–Honduras border, are highly correlated with an
abundance of drug trafficking activity.
Violent crime
In several countries, the
illegal drug trade is thought to be directly linked to violent crimes such as murder and gun
violence. This is especially true in all developing countries, such as Honduras, but is also an issue for many
developed countries worldwide. In the late 1990s in the United States
the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimated that 5% of
murders were drug-related. In Colombia, drug violence can be caused by
factors such as the economy, poor governments, and no authority within law
enforcement.
After a crackdown by US and
Mexican authorities in the first decade of the 21st century as part of
tightened border security in the wake of the September 11 attacks, border violence inside Mexico
surged. The Mexican government estimates that 90% of the killings are
drug-related.
A report by the UK government's
Drug Strategy Unit that was leaked to the press, stated that due to the
expensive price of highly addictive drugs heroin and cocaine, drug use was
responsible for the great majority of crime, including 85% of shoplifting,
70–80% of burglaries and 54% of robberies. It concluded that "the cost of
crime committed to support illegal cocaine and heroin habits amounts to £16
billion a year in the UK.
Drug trafficking routes
Video
of drug smugglers in high-speed boat dumping 2,300 pounds (1,000 kg) of
cocaine in Eastern Pacific Ocean - video from U.S. Coast Guard.
The
nephews of President Nicolás
Maduro, Efraín Antonio Campo Flores and Francisco Flores de
Freitas, after their arrest by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on 10
November 2015.
South America
Venezuela has been a path to the
United States and Europe for illegal drugs
originating in Colombia, through Central America, Mexico and Caribbean countries
such as Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.
According to the United Nations,
there was an increase of cocaine trafficking through Venezuela since 2002. In 2005, the government
of Hugo Chávez severed ties with the
United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), accusing its
representatives of spying. Following the
departure of the DEA from Venezuela and the expansion of DEA's partnership with
Colombia in 2005, Venezuela became more attractive to drug traffickers. Between 2008 and 2012,
Venezuela's cocaine seizure ranking among other countries declined, going from
being ranked fourth in the world for cocaine seizures in 2008 to sixth in the world in
2012.
On 18 November 2016, following
what was known as the Narcosobrinos incident, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's two nephews were found guilty
of trying to ship drugs into the United States so they could "obtain a
large amount of cash to help their family stay in power"
According to a research
conducted by the Israel-based 2019-10-23 at the Wayback Machine as part of an initiative
called Janus Initiative, the main routes that Hezbollah
uses for smuggling drugs are from Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil into West
Africa and then transported through northern Africa into Europe. This route
serves Hezbollah in making a profit in the cocaine smuggling market to leverage
it for terrorist activities.
West Africa
Cocaine produced in Colombia and
Bolivia increasingly has been shipped via West Africa (especially in Nigeria, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Cameroon, Mali, Benin, Togo, and Ghana.[36] The money is often laundered in countries such as
Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal.
According to the Africa Economic
Institute, the value of illicit drug smuggling in Guinea-Bissau is almost twice
the value of the country's GDP. Police officers are often bribed. A police
officer's normal monthly wage of $93 is less than 2% of the value of 1 kilogram
(2.2 lb) of cocaine (€7000 or $8750). The money can also be laundered using real
estate. A house is built using illegal funds, and when the house is sold, legal
money is earned.[37] When drugs are sent over
land, through the Sahara, the drug traders have been forced to cooperate with
terrorist organizations, such as Al Qaida in Islamic Maghreb.
Eastern and Southern
Africa
Heroin is increasingly
trafficked from Afghanistan to Europe and America through eastern and southern
African countries. This path is known as the "southern route" or
"smack track." Repercussions of this trade include burgeoning heroin
use and political corruption among intermediary African nations.
Asia
Drugs in Asia traditionally
traveled the southern routes – the main caravan axes of Southeast Asia and
Southern China – and include the former opium-producing countries of Thailand, Iran, and Pakistan. After the 1990s,
particularly after the end of the Cold
War (1991),
borders were opened and trading and customs agreements were signed so that the
routes expanded to include China, Central Asia, and Russia. There are, therefore,
diversified drug trafficking routes available today, particularly in the heroin
trade and these thrive due to the continuous development of new markets. A
large amount of drugs are smuggled into Europe from Asia. The main sources of
these drugs are Afghanistan, along with countries that
constituted the so-called Golden Crescent. From these producers, drugs
are smuggled into the West and Central Asia to its destinations in Europe and
the United States. Iran is now the route for
smugglers, having been previously a primary trading route, due to its
large-scale and costly war against drug trafficking. The Border Police Chief of
Iran said that his country "is a strong barrier against the trafficking of
illegal drugs to Caucasus, especially the Republic of Azerbaijan." The drugs produced by
the Golden Triangle of Myanmar, Laos, and
Thailand, on the other hand, pass through the southern routes to feed the
Australian, U.S., and Asian markets.
Online
Drugs are increasingly traded
online on the dark web on darknet markets. Internet-based drug trafficking is the global
distribution of narcotics, making extensive use of technology. This is a very
wide range. Similarly, the use of the Internet for the illegal trafficking of
two controlled categories of drugs can also be identified as Internet-related
drug trafficking. The platform Silk Road provided goods and
services to 100,000 buyers before being shut down in October 2013. This prompted the creation
of new platforms such as Silk Road 2.0, which were also shut down.
Profits
U$ 207 million and additional amounts in other currencies were confiscated from
Mexican Zhenli Ye Gon in 2007.
Hashish seized in Operation
Albatross, a joint operation of Afghan officials, NATO, and the DEA
Statistics about profits from
the drug trade are largely unknown due to its illicit nature. An online report
published by the UK Home Office in 2007 estimated the illicit drug market in
the UK at £4–6.6 billion a year.
In December 2009 United Nations Office on Drugs
and Crime Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa claimed illegal drug money
saved the banking industry from collapse. He claimed he had seen evidence that
the proceeds of organized crime were "the only liquid investment capital"
available to some banks on the brink of collapse during 2008. He said that a
majority of the $352 billion (£216bn) of drug profits was absorbed into
the economic system as a result:
"In many
instances, the money from drugs was the only liquid investment capital. In the
second half of 2008, liquidity was the banking system's main problem and hence
liquid capital became an important factor...Inter-bank loans were funded by
money that originated from the drugs trade and other illegal activities...there
were signs that some banks were rescued that way".
5
cm hashish packages taken from a smuggler by police.
Costa declined to identify
countries or banks that may have received any drug money, saying that would be
inappropriate because his office is supposed to address the problem, not
apportion blame.
Though street-level drug sales
are widely viewed as lucrative, a study by Sudhir Venkatesh suggested that many low-level employees receive low
wages. In a study he made in the 1990s working closely with members of
the Black Gangster Disciple Nation in Chicago, he found that one gang essentially a franchise) consisted of a leader (a
college graduate named J.T.), three senior officers, and 25 to 75 street level
salesmen ('foot soldiers') depending on season. Selling crack cocaine, they took in approximately
$32,000 per month over a six-year period. This was spent as follows: $5,000 to
the board of twenty directors of the Black Gangster Disciple Nation, who
oversaw 100 such gangs for approximately $500,000 in monthly income. Another
$5,000 monthly was paid for cocaine, and $4,000 for other non-wage expenses.
J.T. took $8,500 monthly for his own salary. The remaining $9,500 monthly went
to pay the employees a $7 per hour wage for officers and a $3.30 per hour wage
for foot soldiers. Contrary to a popular image of drug sales as a lucrative
profession, many of the employees were living with their mothers by necessity.
Despite this, the gang had four times as many unpaid members who dreamed of
becoming foot soldiers.
Free trade link
There are several arguments on
whether or not free trade has a correlation to an increased activity in the
illicit drug trade. Currently, the structure and operation of the illicit drug
industry is described mainly in terms of an international division of labor.[52] Free trade can open new
markets to domestic producers who would otherwise resort to exporting illicit
drugs. Additionally, extensive free trade among states increases cross-border
drug enforcement and coordination between law enforcement agencies in different
countries. However, free trade also increases the sheer volume of legal
cross-border trade and provides cover for drug smuggling—by providing ample
opportunity to conceal illicit cargo in legal trade. While international free
trade continues to expand the volume of legal trade, the ability to detect and
interdict drug trafficking is severely diminished. Towards the late 1990s, the
top ten seaports in the world processed 33.6 million containers. Free trade has fostered
integration of financial markets and has provided drug traffickers with more
opportunities to launder money and invest in other activities. This strengthens
the drug industry while weakening the efforts of law enforcement to monitor the
flow of drug money into the legitimate economy. Cooperation among cartels
expands their scope to distant markets and strengthens their abilities to evade
detection by local law enforcement.[52] Additionally, criminal
organizations work together to coordinate money-laundering activities by having
separate organizations handle specific stages of laundering process.[52] One organization
structures the process of how financial transactions will be laundered, while
another criminal group provides the “dirty” money to be cleaned.[52] By fostering expansion of
trade and global transportation networks, free trade encourages cooperation and
formation of alliances among criminal organizations across different countries.
The drug trade in Latin America emerged in the early 1930s.[53] It saw significant growth
in the Andean countries, including Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia and
Venezuela.[53] The underground market in
the early half of the 20th century mainly had ties to Europe. After World War
II, the Andean countries saw an expansion of trade, specifically with cocaine.
Drug trafficking by country
United States
The U.S. Coast Guard offloads seized cocaine in
Miami Beach, Florida, May 2014
Background
The effects of the illegal drug trade in the United
States can be seen in a range of political, economic and
social aspects. Increasing drug related violence can be tied to the racial
tension that arose during the late 20th century along with the political
upheaval prevalent throughout the 1960s and 70s. The second
half of the 20th century was a period when increased wealth, and increased
discretionary spending, increased the demand for illicit drugs in certain areas
of the United States. Large-scale drug trafficking is one of the few capital crimes, and may result in a death sentence prescribed at the federal
level when it involves killing.
Political impact.
A large generation, the baby boomers, came of age in the 1960s.
Their social tendency to confront the law on specific issues, including illegal
drugs, overwhelmed the understaffed judicial system. The federal government
attempted to enforce the law, but with meager effect.
Marijuana was a popular drug
seen through the Latin American trade route in the 1960s. Cocaine became a
major drug product in the later decades. Much of the
cocaine is smuggled from Colombia and Mexico via Jamaica. This led to several
administrations combating the popularity of these drugs. Due to the influence
of this development on the U.S. economy, the Reagan administration began
"certifying" countries for their attempts at controlling drug
trafficking.[55] This allowed the United
States to intervene in activities related to illegal drug transport in Latin
America. Continuing into the 1980s, the United States instated stricter policy
pertaining to drug transit through sea. As a result, there was an influx in
drug-trafficking across the Mexico–U.S. border. This increased the drug cartel
activity in Mexico. By the early 1990s, so much as 50% of the cocaine available
in the United States market originated from Mexico, and by the 2000s, over 90%
of the cocaine in the United States was imported from Mexico.[55] In Colombia, however,
there was a fall of the major drug cartels in the mid-1990s. Visible shifts
occurred in the drug market in the United States. Between the 1996 and
2000, U.S. cocaine consumption dropped by 11%.
In 2008, the U.S. government
initiated another program, known as the Merida Initiative, to help combat drug trafficking in Mexico. This program
increased U.S. security assistance to $1.4 billion over several years,
which helped supply Mexican forces with "high-end equipment from
helicopters to surveillance technology". Despite U.S. aid, Mexican
"narcogangs" continue to outnumber and outgun the Mexican Army, allowing for continued activities of drug cartels
across the U.S.–Mexico
border.
Social impacts
War
on drugs in Arizona, October 2011
Although narcotics are illegal
in the US, they have become integrated into the nation's culture and are seen
as a recreational activity by sections of the population. Illicit drugs are
considered to be a commodity with strong demand, as they are typically sold at
a high value. This high price is caused by a combination of factors that
include the potential legal ramifications that exist for suppliers of illicit
drugs and their high demand.[60] Despite the constant
effort by politicians to win the war on drugs, the US is still the world's
largest importer of illegal drugs.
Throughout the 20th century,
narcotics other than cocaine also crossed the Mexican border, meeting the US
demand for alcohol during the 1920s Prohibition, opiates in the 1940s,
marijuana in the 1960s, and heroin in the 1970s. Most of the U.S. imports of drugs come from
Mexican drug cartels. In the United States, around 195 cities have been
infiltrated by drug trafficking that originated in Mexico. An estimated $10bn of the
Mexican drug cartel's profits come from the United States, not only\supplying
the Mexican drug cartels with the profit necessary for survival, but also
furthering America's economic dependence on drugs.
Demographics
With a large wave of immigrants
in the 1960s and onwards, the United States saw an increased heterogeneity in
its public. In the 1980s
and 90s, drug-related homicide was at a record high. This increase in drug
violence became increasingly tied to these ethnic minorities. Though the rate
of violence varied tremendously among cities in America, it was a common
anxiety in communities across urban America. An example of this could be seen
in Miami, a city with a host of ethnic enclaves. Between 1985 and 1995,
the homicide rate in Miami was one of the highest in the nation—four times the
national homicide average. This crime rate was correlated with regions with low
employment and was not entirely dependent on ethnicity.
The baby boomer generation also
felt the effects of the drug trade in their increased drug use from the 1960s
to 80s. Along with substance use, criminal
involvement, suicide and murder were also on the rise. Due to the large amount of
baby boomers, commercial marijuana use was on the rise. This increased the
supply and demand for marijuana during this time period.
Mexico.
Political influences
Corruption in Mexico has contributed to the
domination of Mexican cartels in the illicit drug trade. Since the beginning of
the 20th century, Mexico's political environment allowed the growth of drug-related
activity. The loose regulation over the transportation of illegal drugs and the
failure to prosecute known drug traffickers and gangs increased the growth of
the drug industry. Toleration of drug trafficking has undermined the authority
of the Mexican government and has decreased the power of law enforcement
officers in regulation over such activities. These policies of tolerance
fostered the growing power of drug cartels in the Mexican economy and have made
drug traders wealthier.[64] Many states in Mexico lack
policies that establish stability in governance. There also is a lack of local
stability, as mayors cannot be re-elected. This requires electing a new mayor
each term. Drug gangs have manipulated this, using vacuums in local leadership
to their own advantage.[55]
Drug
trafficking tunnel discovered near U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area
In 1929, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) was formed to
resolve the chaos resulting from the Mexican
Revolution. Over time, this party gained political influence and
had a major impact on Mexico's social and economic policies. The party created ties with various groups as
a power play in order to gain influence, and as a result created more
corruption in the government. One such power play was an alliance with drug
traffickers. This political corruption obscured justice, making
it difficult to identify violence when it related to drugs. By the 1940s, the tie
between the drug cartels and the PRI had solidified. This arrangement created
immunity for the leaders of the drug cartels and allowed drug trafficking to
grow under the protection of the government officials. During the 1990s, the
PRI lost some elections to the new National Action Party (PAN). Chaos again emerged
as elected government in Mexico changed drastically. As the PAN party took
control, drug cartel leaders took advantage of the ensuing confusion and used
their existing influence to further gain power. Instead of negotiating
with the central government as was done with the PRI party, drug cartels
utilized new ways to distribute their supply and continued operating through
force and intimidation. As Mexico became more democratized,
the corruption fell from a centralized power to the local authorities. Cartels began to bribe
local authorities, thus eliminating the structure and rules placed by the
government—giving cartels more freedom. As a response, Mexico saw
an increase in violence caused by drug trafficking.
The corruption cartels created
resulted in distrust of government by the Mexican public. This distrust became more
prominent after the collapse of the PRI party.[66] In response, the presidents of Mexico, in the late twentieth century
and early twenty-first century, implemented several different programs relating
to law enforcement and regulation. In 1993, President Salinas created the
National Institute for the Combat of Drugs in Mexico. From 1995 to 1998,
President Zedillo established policies regarding increased punishment of
organized crime, allowing "[wire taps], protected witnesses, covert agents
and seizures of goods", and increasing the quality of law enforcement at
the federal level. From 2001 to 2005, President Vicente Fox created the Federal Agency of Investigation. These policies resulted
in the arrests of major drug-trafficking bosses:
Mexico's economy
Over the past few decades drug
cartels have become integrated into Mexico's economy. Approximately 500 cities
are directly engaged in drug trafficking and nearly 450,000 people are employed
by drug cartels. Additionally, the livelihood of 3.2 million people
is dependent on the drug cartels.[66] Between local and
international sales, such as to Europe and the United States, drug cartels in
Mexico see a $25–30bn yearly profit, a great deal of which circulates through
international banks such as HSBC. Drug cartels are
fundamental in local economics. A percentage of the profits seen from the trade
are invested in the local community.[66\ Such profits contribute to
the education and healthcare of the community. While these cartels bring
violence and hazards into communities, they create jobs and provide income for
its many members.
Culture of drug
cartelel
Major cartels saw growth due to
a prominent set culture of Mexican society that created the means for drug
capital. One of the sites of origin for drug trafficking within Mexico, was the
state of Michoacán. In the past, Michoacán was
mainly an agricultural society. This provided an initial growth of trade.
Industrialization of rural areas of Mexico facilitated a greater distribution
of drugs, expanding the drug market into different provinces. Once towns became industrialized, cartels such
as the Sinaloa Cartel started to form and
expand. The proliferation of drug cartel culture largely stemmed from the
ranchero culture seen in Michoacán. Ranchero culture values the individual as
opposed to the society as a whole. This culture fostered the drug culture
of valuing the family that is formed within the cartel. This ideal allowed for
greater organization within the cartels. Gangs play a major role in the
activity of drug cartels. MS-13 and the 18th Street gang are notorious for their
contributions and influence over drug trafficking throughout Latin America.
MS-13 has controlled much of the activity in the drug trade spanning from
Mexico to Panama.[66] Female involvement is
present in the Mexican drug culture. Although females are not treated as equals
to males, they typically hold more power than their culture allows and acquire
some independence. The increase in power has attracted females from higher
social classes.[67] Financial gain has also
prompted women to become involved in the illegal drug market. Many women in the
lower levels of major drug cartels belong to a low economic class. Drug
trafficking offers women an accessible way to earn income.[67] Females from all social
classes have become involved in the trade due to outside pressure from their
social and economic environments.
Colombia
Seized
drugs in Bogota, Colombia, April 2013
Political ties
It was common for smugglers in
Colombia to import liquor, alcohol, cigarettes and textiles, while exporting
cocaine. Personnel with knowledge
of the terrain were able to supply the local market while also exporting a
large amount of product. The established trade that began in the 1960s
involved Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela and Cuba. Peasant farmers produced
coca paste in Peru and Bolivia, while Colombian smugglers would process the
coca paste into cocaine in Colombia, and trafficked product through
Cuba. This trade route established ties between Cuban and Colombian
organized crime. From Cuba, cocaine would be transported to Miami, Florida; and
Union City, New Jersey. Quantities of the drug were then smuggled throughout
the US.[53] The international drug
trade created political ties between the involved countries, encouraging the
governments of the countries involved to collaborate and instate common
policies to eradicate drug cartels. Cuba stopped being a center for transport
of cocaine following the establishment of a communist government in 1959. As a
result, Miami and Union City became the sole locations for trafficking. The relations between
Cuban and Colombian organized crime remained strong until the 1970s, when
Colombian cartels began to vie for power. In the 1980s and 90s, Colombia
emerged as a key contributor of the drug trade industry in the Western
Hemisphere. While the smuggling of drugs such as marijuana, poppy, opium and
heroin became more ubiquitous during this time period, the activity of cocaine
cartels drove the development of the Latin American drug trade. The trade
emerged as a multinational effort as supplies (i.e. coca plant substances) were
imported from countries such as Bolivia and Peru, were refined in Colombian
cocaine labs and smuggled through Colombia, and exported to countries such as
the US.
Colombia's economy
Colombia has had a significant
role in the illegal drug trade in Latin America. While active in the drug trade
since the 1930s, Colombia's role in the drug trade did not truly become
dominant until the 1970s. When Mexico eradicated
marijuana plantations, demand stayed the same. Colombia met much of the demand
by growing more marijuana. Grown in the strategic northeast region of Colombia,
marijuana soon became the leading cash crop in Colombia. This success was short-lived
due to anti-marijuana campaigns that were enforced by the US military
throughout the Caribbean. Instead, drug traffickers in Colombia continued their
focus on exporting cocaine. Having been an export of Colombia since the
early 1950s, cocaine remained popular for a host of reasons. Colombia's
location facilitated its transportation from South America into Central
America, and then to its destination of North America. This continued into the
1990s, when Colombia remained the chief exporter of cocaine. The business of
drug trafficking can be seen in several stages in Colombia towards the latter
half of the 20th century. Colombia served as the dominant force in the
distribution and sale of cocaine by the 1980s. As drug producers gained more
power, they became more centralized and organized into what became drug
cartels. Cartels controlled the major aspects of each stage in the traffic
of their product. Their organization allowed cocaine to be distributed in great
amounts throughout the United States. By the late 1980s, intra-industry strife
arose within the cartels. This stage was marked by increased violence as
different cartels fought for control of export markets. Despite this strife,
this power struggle led to then having multiple producers of coca leaf farms.
This in turn caused an improvement in quality control and reduction of police
interdiction in the distribution of cocaine. This also led to cartels
attempting to repatriate their earnings which would eventually make up 5.5% of
Colombia's GDP. This drive to repatriate earnings led to the pressure of
legitimizing their wealth, causing an increase in violence throughout Colombia.
Colombian
drug lord Diego Murillo Bejarano was extradited from
Colombia to the U.S. in May 2008
Throughout the 1980s, estimates
of illegal drug value in Colombia ranged from $2bn to $4bn.
] This made up about 7–10% of the $36bn estimated GNP
of Colombia during this decade. In the 1990s, the estimates of the illegal drug
value remained roughly within the same range (~$2.5bn). As the Colombian
GNP rose throughout the 1990s ($68.5bn in 1994 and $96.3bn in 1997),[68] illegal drug values began
to comprise a decreasing fraction of the national economy. By the early 1990s, although Colombia led in
the exportation of cocaine, it found increasing confrontations within its
state. These confrontations were primarily between cartels and government
institutions. This led to a decrease in the drug trade's contribution to the
GDP of Colombia; dropping from 5.5% to 2.6%. Though a contributor of
wealth, the distribution of cocaine has had negative effects on the
socio-political situation of Colombia and has weakened its economy as well.
Social impacts
By the 1980s, Colombian cartels
became the dominant cocaine distributors in the US. This led to the spread of
increased violence throughout both Latin America and Miami. In the 1980s, two
major drug cartels emerged in Colombia: the Medellin and Cali groups.
Throughout the 1990s however, several factors led to the decline of these major
cartels and to the rise of smaller Colombian cartels. The U.S. demand for
cocaine dropped while Colombian production rose, pressuring traffickers to find
new drugs and markets. In this time period, there was an increase in activity
of Caribbean cartels that led to the rise of an alternate route of smuggling
through Mexico. This led to the increased collaboration between major Colombian
and Mexican drug traffickers. Such drastic changes in the execution of drug
trade in Colombia paired with the political instabilities and rise of drug wars
in Medellin and Cali, gave way for the rise of the smaller Colombian drug
trafficking organizations (and the rise of heroin trade).[68] As the drug trade's
influence over the economy increased, drug lords and their networks grew in
their power and influence in society. The occurrences in drug-related violence
increased during this time period as drug lords fought to maintain their
control in the economy. Typically a drug cartel had support networks that
consisted of a number of individuals. These people individuals ranged from
those directly involved in the trade (such as suppliers, chemists,
transporters, smugglers, etc.) as well as those involved indirectly in the
trade (such as politicians, bankers, police, etc.). As these smaller Colombian
drug cartels grew in prevalence, several notable aspects of the Colombian
society gave way for further development of the Colombian drug industry. For
example, until the late 1980s, the long-term effects of the drug industry were
not realized by much of society. Additionally, there was a lack of regulation
in prisons where captured traffickers were sent. These prisons were
under-regulated, under-funded, and under-staffed, which allowed for the
formation of prison gangs, for the smuggling of arms/weapons/etc., for feasible
escapes, and even for captured drug lords to continue running their businesses from
prison.
Western Balkans
Since the beginning of the 21st
century, the global drug trade network witnessed the emergence of criminal
groups from the Western Balkans as crucial players. These
groups have moved up from being small-time crooks to major drug distributors.
Most of these organized crime groups belonged to Albania, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. The illicit trade activities
of the Balkans primarily involved Latin America, Western Europe, South Africa, Australia and Turkey. These groups keep their
operations outside the Western Balkans, while staying connected to their
homeland. Within the network of these groups, the dealmakers operate in a
proximity of supply sources and the distribution networks are managed by foot
soldiers. However, the bosses of the organized criminal groups stay and keep
their wealth in the United Arab Emirates. The UAE is amongst the
enablers of global corruption and illicit financial flows. Analysts have
claimed that criminal actors across the world either operate from or through
the Emirates. It was a haven for criminals, where the risk for illicit
activities remains low.
For the Balkan criminals, a
growing trend was to relocate to the UAE, which became an attraction to dirty
money and kingpins from several European nations and the United Kingdom. Besides, Dubai was also dubbed
as the “new Costa del Crime”, replacing the crime hideaway of Spain, the Costa del Sol. The UAE had poor regulations
for money laundering and for screening of
suspicious transactions. The lack of regulations against illicit financial
activities prompted the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to place the Gulf
country on its grey list in March 2022. Consequently, the Emirates’
remained a safe option for the criminals. Nearly two-thirds of the Albanian
criminal groups, who were active in trade of drugs like cocaine, were believed to be hiding in
the UAE. One of such individuals, Eldi Dizdari was accused of international
drug trafficking and was living in Dubai. Research revealed that these
criminals invested huge amounts in the Emirates’ real estate and other
economical sectors to live there.[70] Another trafficker of
cocaine from Bosnia, Edin Gačanin was living in the
UAE using his extensive profits to buy property and protection in the country.
Dubbed as the “European Escobar”, he connected the supply network between
production markets of Latin America and consumer markets of Western European.
He was able to evade the arrest and investigations, including by the US Drug
Enforcement Administration, by seeking shelter in the
Emirates.
Cannabis
Four
ounces (113 grams) of cannabis
While the recreational use of
(and consequently the distribution of) cannabis is illegal in most
countries throughout the world, recreational distribution is legal in some
countries, such as Canada, and medical distribution is permitted in some
places, such as 10 of the 50 US states (although importation and distribution
is still federally prohibited). Beginning in 2014, Uruguay became the first country to legalize cultivation,
sale, and consumption of cannabis for recreational use for adult residents.[75] In 2018, Canada became the
second country to legalize use, sale and cultivation of cannabis. The first few
weeks were met with extremely high demand, most shops being out of stock after
operating for only four days.
Cannabis use is tolerated in
some areas, most notably the Netherlands, which has legalized the possession
and licensed sale (but not cultivation) of the drug. Many nations have
decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Due to the hardy
nature of the cannabis plant, marijuana is grown all across the world and is
today the world's most popular illegal drug with the highest level of
availability.[76] Cannabis is grown legally
in many countries for industrial, non-drug use (known as hemp) as well. Cannabis-hemp may
also be planted for other non-drug domestic purposes, such as seasoning that
occurs in Aceh.
The demand for cannabis around
the world, coupled with the drug's relative ease of cultivation, makes the
illicit cannabis trade one of the primary ways in which organized criminal
groups finance many of their activities. In Mexico, for example, the illicit
trafficking of cannabis is thought to constitute the majority of many of the
cartels' earnings, and the main way in which the cartels finance many other
illegal activities; including the purchase of other illegal drugs for
trafficking, and for acquiring weapons that are ultimately used to commit
murders (causing a burgeoning in the homicide rates of many areas of the world,
but particularly Latin America).
Some studies show that the
increased legalization of cannabis in the United States.
Alcohol, in the context of alcoholic beverages rather than denatured alcohol, is illegal in a number of Muslim countries, such as Saudi Arabia, and this has resulted in a
thriving illegal trade in alcohol. The manufacture, sale, transportation,
import, and export of alcoholic beverages were illegal in the United States during the time known as the Prohibition in the 1920s and early
1930s.
Further information: Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle
(Southeast Asia)
A field of opium poppies in Burma
Heroin woven into a hand-made
knotted carpet seized at Manchester
Airport, 2012
In the 1950s and 1960s, most heroin was pro
duced in Turkey and transshipped in France via the French Connection crime ring, with much arriving in
Then, until around 2004, the
majority of the world's heroin was produced in an area known as the Golden Triangle. However, by 2007, 93% of the opiates on the
world market originated in Afghanistan. This amounted to an export
value of about US$4 billion, with a quarter being earned by opium farmers
and the rest going to district officials, insurgents, warlords and drug
traffickers.[91] Another significant area
where poppy fields are grown for the manufacture of heroin is Mexico.
According to the United States
Drug Enforcement Administration, the price of heroin is
typically valued 8 to 10 times that of cocaine on American streets, making it a
high-profit substance for smugglers and dealers. In Europe (except the
transit countries Portugal and the Netherlands), for example, a purported gram
of street heroin, usually consisting of 700–800 mg of a light to dark
brown powder containing 5–10% heroin base, costs €30–70, making the effective
value per gram of pure heroin €300–700. Heroin is generally a preferred product
for smuggling and distribution—over unrefined opium due to the
cost-effectiveness and increased efficacy[of heroin.
Because of the high cost per
volume, heroin is easily smuggled. A US quarter-sized (2.5 cm) cylindrical
vial can contain hundreds of doses. From the 1930s to the early 1970s, the
so-called French Connection supplied the majority of
US demand. Allegedly, during the Vietnam War, drug lords such as Ike Atkinson used to smuggle hundreds of kilograms of heroin to
the US in coffins of dead American soldiers (see Cadaver Connection). Since that time it has become
more difficult for drugs to be imported into the US than it had been in
previous decades, but that does not stop the heroin smugglers from getting
their product across US borders. Purity levels vary greatly by region with
Northeastern cities having the most pure heroin in the United States. On
17 October 2018 police in Genoa, Italy discovered 270 kg of
heroin hidden in a ship coming from the Iranian southern port of Bandar Abbas. The ship had already passed and stopped at Hamburg in Germany and Valencia in Spain.
Penalties for smuggling heroin
or morphine are often harsh in most countries. Some countries will readily hand
down a death sentence (e.g. SingapoBre) or Blife prison for the illegal
smuggling of heroin or morphine, which are both internationally Schedule I
drugs under the Single
Convention on Narcotic Drugs.
In May 2021, Romania seized 1.4 tonnes of
heroin at Constanța port of a shipment from Iran that was headed for
Western Europe.
Methamphetamine
smuggled inside a car tire.
Heroin
or methamphetamine drug use kit ("works") with needles and a spoon.
Methamphetamine is another
popular drug among distributors. Three common street names are
"meth", "crank", and "ice".
According to the Community
Epidemiology Work Group, the number of clandestine
methamphetamine laboratory incidents reported to the
National Clandestine Laboratory Database decreased from 1999 to 2009. During
this period, methamphetamine lab incidents increased in mid-western States
(Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio), and in Pennsylvania. In 2004, more
lab incidents were reported in Missouri (2,788) and Illinois (1,058) than in
California (764). In 2003, methamphetamine lab incidents reached new highs in
Georgia (250), Minnesota (309), and Texas (677). There were only seven
methamphetamine lab incidents reported in Hawaii in 2004, though nearly 59
percent of substance use treatment admissions (excluding alcohol) were for
primary methamphetamine use during the first six months of 2004. As of 2007,
Missouri leads the United States in drug-lab seizures, with 1,268 incidents
reported. Often canine units are used for
detecting rolling meth labs which can be concealed on
large vehicles, or transported on something as small as a motorcycle. These
labs are more difficult to detect than stationary ones, and can often be
obscured among legal cargo in big trucks.
Methamphetamine is sometimes
used intravenously, placing users and their partners at risk for transmission
of HIV and hepatitis C. "Meth" can also
be inhaled, most commonly vaporized on aluminum foil or in a glass pipe. This
method is reported to give "an unnatural high" and a "brief
intense rush".
In South Africa methamphetamine
is called "tik" or "tik-tik"."Known locally as
"tik," the substance was virtually unknown as late as 2003. Now, it
is the country's main addictive substance, even when alcohol is included.
"[100] Children as young as eight
are abusing the substance, smoking it in crude glass vials made from light
bulbs Since methamphetamine is
easy to produce, the substance is manufactured locally in staggering
quantities.
The government of North Korea currently operates
methamphetamine production facilities. There, the drug is used as medicine
because no alternatives are available; it also is smuggled across the Chinese border.
The Australian Crime
Commission's illicit drug data report for 2011–2012 stated that the average
strength of crystal methamphetamine doubled in most Australian jurisdictions
within a 12-month period, and the majority of domestic laboratory closures
involved small "addict-based" operations.
Temazepam
Temazepam, a strong
hypnotic benzodiazepine, is illicitly manufactured in clandestine laboratories
(called jellie labs) to supply the increasingly high demand for the
drug internationally.[103] Many clandestine temazepam
labs are in Eastern Europe. The labs manufacture temazepam by chemically altering
diazepam, oxazepam or lorazepam. "Jellie labs" have been identified
and shut down in Russia, Ukraine, Latvia and Belarus.
Surveys in many countries show
that temazepam, MDMA, nimetazepam, and methamphetamine rank among the top illegal addictive substances
used.
Cocaine
Prostitutes
buy cocaine capsules from a drug dealer in Berlin, 1930. The capsules sold for
5 marks each.
Cocaine is a highly prominent
drug among many drug dealers and manufacturers. The cocaine black market
distribution industry is worth more than 85 billion dollars. It has been a
heavily fought over and massively produced. Around 1.1 million kilograms
of cocaine were made in 2009 and it is believed to have been consumed by around
17 million people worldwide. This drug's mass trade is believed to have
been possible by notorious drug dealing kingpin Joaquín . Chapo" Guzmán who ran the Sinaloa Cartel.
·
Allegations of
CIA drug trafficking
·
Arguments for and against drug prohibition
·
Drug trafficking
organizations
·
Illegal drug trade in the Indian Ocean region
·
Maritime drug smuggling into Australia
International
coordination
·
International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
·
Interpol
Jan Ricks Jennings,
MHA, LFACHE
Senior Consultant
Senior Management
Resources, LLC
JanJenningsBlog.Blogspot.com
412.913.0636 Cell
724.733.0509 Office
February 14, 2023
P.S.
The
above article was published on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2023. Ironically, the controversial labor leader
and criminal, James Riddle Hoffa was born on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 1913.
He disappeared on July 30, 1975 and was declared dead July 30,
1982. was an American labor
union leader who served as the president
of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT)
from 1957 until 1971.
From
an early age, Hoffa was a union activist, and he became an important regional
figure with the IBT by his mid-twenties. By 1952, he was the national
vice-president of the IBT and between 1957 and 1971 he was its general
president. He secured the first national agreement for teamsters' rates in 1964
with the National Master Freight Agreement.
He played a major role in the growth and the development of the union, which
eventually became the largest by membership in the United States, with over 2.3
million members at its peak, during his terms as its leader.
Hoffa
became involved with organized
crime from the early years of his
Teamsters work, a connection that continued until his disappearance in 1975. He
was convicted of jury tampering,
attempted bribery, conspiracy,
and mail and wire
fraud in 1964 in two separate trials. He
was imprisoned in 1967 and sentenced to 13 years. In mid-1971, he resigned as
president of the union as part of a commutation agreement
with U.S. president Richard
Nixon and was released later that year,
but Hoffa was barred from union activities until 1980. Hoping to regain support
and to return to IBT leadership, he unsuccessfully tried to overturn the order.
Hoffa
disappeared on July 30, 1975. It is generally accepted that he was murdered by
the Mafia,
and in 1982 was declared legally
dead. Hoffa's legacy and the circumstances of
his disappearance continue to stir debate.
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