Smugglers Paradise

Smugglers Paradise

Ever wondered where the the biggest smuggling routes are? Why most of the drugs hitting Europe, goes through the conservative and very strict Islamic Republic of Iran? Or why there are so many persons running guns from the high-income USA to the poorer neighbour of Mexico?

The United Nation Office of Drugs and Crime has recently published a report - The Globalization of Crime - which gives a fascinating insight into the international movements of illicit goods. The report shows how drugs, guns, migrants and other contraband are moved across state borders across the world.

Highlights:

• 90 % of the global heroin supply comes from opium poppy cultivated in Afghanistan

• Most irregular immigrants to Europe goes through Libya

• The gun trade in the United States is subject to competitive pressures, so weapons are also inexpensive in comparison to countries where firearms sales are highly regulated, such as Mexico

• Maritime piracy is not only contained to the bay of Aden of the coast of Somalia, but is a major threat in West Africa, The Caribbean, The Bay of Bengal and Indonesia. 

The Globalization of Crime

Extra: For the real life inspiration for the 2006 movie Lord of War, see page 143 on Leonid Minin. The trafficker managed to smuggle heaps of small arms from the former Soviet Republics to conflict areas all over the world.