Pakistan
If there’s anything
more ubiquitous than trafficking networks in Pakistan, it’s the consumption of
the heroin itself—estimates of more than half-a-million users go through $1.2
billion of product a year. Locals of Pakistan’s largest metropolitan city
Karachi say the drug is cheaper than food. According to the national media, customs officials seized a grand total of 1 tonne
of product in 2011, despite 260 tonnes entering through the north-west border
alone.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan today is undoubtedly the focal
point of the trade. Local farmers, traffickers and governing forces are
strongly tied to the trade, with the Taliban there pulling in an estimated 155
million USD in 2009, according to the UNODC. Drug traffickers earned 2.2
billion USD, while farmers took home a combined 440 million USD. In fact,
production in Afghanistan has even surpassed demand – creating huge stocks of
opium and morphine. There are also numerous heroin
labs in the country – 300-500, according to the UNODC. They collectively put
out up to 400 tons of heroin annually, and operate in less policed regions of
the state.
The European market for Afghan produce is the
largest; an estimated 150 tons of Afghan heroin were consumed in Europe in
2009. The East Asian and Southeast Asian markets are also becoming more prominent
consumers of Afghan heroin, especially given the decline of local opium
production there. The rise of the African region as a trafficking route is also
making the area a greater destination.
Southeast Asia
While
Afghanistan is indisputably the major region of concern in the opiate trade,
the ‘Golden Triangle’ of Southeast Asia (broadly, at the convergence of the
borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand) remains a significant factor in the
market. Today, the bulk of opium production in the region comes from Myanmar
(specifically, Shan state) and Laos; combined, they amounted to an estimated
63,800 hectares of cultivation area and produced about 762 tons of opium in
2014. Heroin is the ‘primary drug of concern’ in various parts of the region,
including Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Vietnam, according to the UNODC, as
well as a significant problem in other states like Indonesia and Australia.
Latin America
Cocaine
trafficking in this region led to strict policies against possession and trade
of any drugs. This has been implemented through border control and several
military operations. Drug trafficking in this region has most commonly led to
many social and economic problems, which must also be considered; for example,
there is an estimated of 300,000 refugees in Ecuador, from Colombia, because of
the violence associated with the illicit trafficking. The governments of this
region often face hard violence associated with the crime organizations, so a
main goal is clearly to fight these organizations with force. In addition, drug
trafficking in Latin American countries is commonly bound to other illegal
activities such as illegal mining.
Mexico
Mexico
as one of the major countries in the world with a drug trafficking problem, has
established a frontal opposition against DTOs called “cartels”, they support
and work besides the USA’s position. Because drug trafficking is a major
problem there, almost all countries in Central America and the Caribbean, are
main allies of the USA in the region. They prefer to support the position of
the USA without an independent perspective. Cuba on the other hand, has a
similar position in the topic as the Russian Federation.
in my next blog i will write on an entirely new topic thank you...
all the information is of 2016 senses.
Yup...u have a very sensitive issue affecting us...it's high time awareness shd be inculcated n put a stop to this menace which is threatening mankind..
ReplyDeleteWell done.k. keep it up.
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