Latest news with #drugtrade
The Independent
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Southeast Asia's illicit methamphetamine trade is at a record high, the UN says
The illicit trade in methamphetamine and other dangerous drugs is growing by leaps and bounds in Southeast Asia, with record levels of seizures serving as an indicator of the scale, U.N experts on the drug trade said in a new report Wednesday. Methamphetamine seizures, primarily in Southeast Asia, totaled 236 tons in 2024, a 24% increase over 2023. The increase applied to both crystal methamphetamine and methamphetamine tablets, the latter priced for a mass market, going for as little as U.S. $0.60 apiece in Myanmar. About 1 billion tablets were seized last year in Thailand. 'The sustained flood of methamphetamine to markets in the region has been driven by industrial-scale production and trafficking networks operated by agile, well-resourced transnational organized criminal groups,' says the report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, or UNODC. 'We are clearly seeing unprecedented levels of methamphetamine production and trafficking from the Golden Triangle, in particular Myanmar's Shan State," Benedikt Hofmann, UNODC acting regional representative, said in a statement. The 'Golden Triangle,' where the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet, is famous for the production of opium and heroin, which flourished largely because the remote location and lax law enforcement. In recent decades, methamphetamine has supplanted it because it is easier to make on an industrial scale. Myanmar's civil war fueled trafficking growth What has turbocharged growth of the methamphetamine trade has been the political situation in Myanmar, where the army's February 2021 seizure of power has led to civil war. That has caused the flow of drugs to surge 'across not only East and Southeast Asia, but also increasingly into South Asia, in particular Northeast India,' the new report says. At the same time in Myanmar 'there is a degree of stability in certain parts of the country, especially those known for large-scale synthetic drug production,' Hofmann said, adding that the combination has 'created favorable conditions for the expansion of drug production." The report says traffickers have diversified routes to markets, both within Southeast Asia and beyond. Drugs are increasingly trafficked from Myanmar to Cambodia, mostly through Laos, as well as though maritime routes 'linking Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, with Sabah in Malaysia serving as a key transit hub.' Other drugs enter from beyond the region The report says some drugs enter the region from outside, including the 'Golden Crescent,' another major drug production area covering remote mountainous regions of Afghanistan, Pakistan and eastern Iran. Crystal methamphetamine from the Golden Crescent has been found in Southeast Asian nations including the Philippines, as well as in Japan and South Korea. North America has been the origin for methamphetamine found in Indonesia, Hong Kong, China, Japan, the Philippines and South Korea, involving trafficking by Mexican cartels, the report says. Traffickers have 'shown business acumen by leveraging digital tools and emerging technologies to facilitate and profit from the illicit trade in synthetic drugs,' it says, and some trafficking groups infiltrate legitimate businesses or set up front companies. One major development is the growing convergence between trafficking organized crime groups and those offering services such as underground banking, the report says.
Washington Post
28-05-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Southeast Asia's illicit methamphetamine trade is at a record high, the UN says
BANGKOK — The illicit trade in methamphetamine and other dangerous drugs is growing by leaps and bounds in Southeast Asia , with record levels of seizures serving as an indicator of the scale, U.N experts on the drug trade said in a new report Wednesday. Methamphetamine seizures, primarily in Southeast Asia, totaled 236 tons in 2024, a 24% increase over 2023. The increase applied to both crystal methamphetamine and methamphetamine tablets, the latter priced for a mass market, going for as little as U.S. $0.60 apiece in Myanmar . About 1 billion tablets were seized last year in Thailand.
Associated Press
28-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Southeast Asia's illicit methamphetamine trade is at a record high, the UN says
BANGKOK (AP) — The illicit trade in methamphetamine and other dangerous drugs is growing by leaps and bounds in Southeast Asia, with record levels of seizures serving as an indicator of the scale, U.N experts on the drug trade said in a new report Wednesday. Methamphetamine seizures, primarily in Southeast Asia, totaled 236 tons in 2024, a 24% increase over 2023. The increase applied to both crystal methamphetamine and methamphetamine tablets, the latter priced for a mass market, going for as little as U.S. $0.60 apiece in Myanmar. About 1 billion tablets were seized last year in Thailand. 'The sustained flood of methamphetamine to markets in the region has been driven by industrial-scale production and trafficking networks operated by agile, well-resourced transnational organized criminal groups,' says the report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, or UNODC. 'We are clearly seeing unprecedented levels of methamphetamine production and trafficking from the Golden Triangle, in particular Myanmar's Shan State,' Benedikt Hofmann, UNODC acting regional representative, said in a statement. The 'Golden Triangle,' where the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet, is famous for the production of opium and heroin, which flourished largely because the remote location and lax law enforcement. In recent decades, methamphetamine has supplanted it because it is easier to make on an industrial scale. Myanmar's civil war fueled trafficking growth What has turbocharged growth of the methamphetamine trade has been the political situation in Myanmar, where the army's February 2021 seizure of power has led to civil war. That has caused the flow of drugs to surge 'across not only East and Southeast Asia, but also increasingly into South Asia, in particular Northeast India,' the new report says. At the same time in Myanmar 'there is a degree of stability in certain parts of the country, especially those known for large-scale synthetic drug production,' Hofmann said, adding that the combination has 'created favorable conditions for the expansion of drug production.' The report says traffickers have diversified routes to markets, both within Southeast Asia and beyond. Drugs are increasingly trafficked from Myanmar to Cambodia, mostly through Laos, as well as though maritime routes 'linking Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, with Sabah in Malaysia serving as a key transit hub.' Other drugs enter from beyond the region The report says some drugs enter the region from outside, including the 'Golden Crescent,' another major drug production area covering remote mountainous regions of Afghanistan, Pakistan and eastern Iran. Crystal methamphetamine from the Golden Crescent has been found in Southeast Asian nations including the Philippines, as well as in Japan and South Korea. North America has been the origin for methamphetamine found in Indonesia, Hong Kong, China, Japan, the Philippines and South Korea, involving trafficking by Mexican cartels, the report says. Traffickers have 'shown business acumen by leveraging digital tools and emerging technologies to facilitate and profit from the illicit trade in synthetic drugs,' it says, and some trafficking groups infiltrate legitimate businesses or set up front companies. One major development is the growing convergence between trafficking organized crime groups and those offering services such as underground banking, the report says.
Daily Mail
25-05-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I'm an Albanian drug lord… here is why British police will NEVER defeat us: Gangster reveals key reason they will always pump cocaine onto our streets
An Albanian drug lord has revealed the reason he believes British police will never defeat the gangs smuggling cocaine into the UK. The gangster, who spoke to MailOnline on the condition of anonymity, said a key practice carried out by Albanian mobsters was stopping the police from completely halting their criminal activities in the UK. Since 1995, Albanians have been important players in the cocaine trade in Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain having well-established networks of supply. To enter the UK market in late 2000, they used as a motto 'sell cheap and sell more'. One Albanian in London, who served 17 years in prison as a part of a large organised crime group in the cocaine trade, explained that an arrest didn't necessarily mean the end of the road for that cocaine smuggling cell. Since 2005, the National Crime Agency, which superseded the Serious Organised Crime Agency, and the Specialized Crime Directorate at Scotland Yard have arrested and successfully convicted hundreds of Albanians in the cocaine trade. At the end of last year there were almost 1,100 Albanians in jail including feared Balkan mafia kingpins pumping cocaine onto Britain's streets. As well as controlling the drug trade, Albanian gangsters terrorising the UK have also been convicted of murder, sex offences, money laundering and people smuggling. But as soon as an Albanian organised crime group is smashed, a new one seemingly replaces them. The gangster told MailOnline this was owing to a practice called 'selling the work'. He said when a gang member was arrested, if the police fail to obtain his phone, his associates would sell his phone - and the contacts on it - for up to £100,000. The NCA has for years warned about the 'significant threat' posed by Albanian gangs, infamous for their professionalism and discipline as well as savage tactics to keep competition at bay. Ruthless Albanian gangs have come to dominate the British drug trade, negotiating directly with Colombian cartels and undercutting criminal rivals to flood Britain's streets with cheap cocaine. The flow of money back to Albania is a growing concern to the NCA. Its fears have increased so much that last year the agency signed a deal with Albania anti-organised crime bureau SPAK that will see the unit hunt for the assets of Albanians convicted in the UK. In 2010, just 1.5 per cent of foreign nationals jailed in England and Wales were Albanian. But by the end of 2024 Albanians made up 10.6 per cent – more than any other nationality. The swelling numbers of Albanians are in part due to large numbers crossing the channel, with a total of 12,685 coming to Britain on small boats in 2022. The rate has, however, fallen since ministers signed a prisoner transfer agreement with Albania's government in 2022. Under Rishi Sunak, 200 were deported in exchange for £8million to modernise their prison system. Labour has vowed to deport foreign criminals faster, saying it 'cannot be right' for taxpayers to foot the bill. It is thought to cost around £40,000 a year to house each prisoner, suggesting that the UK spends £44million on locking up Albanian criminals. Even so, the Albanian drug lord boasted about how he and his fellow gangsters came to dominate the cocaine market. He said: 'We had the highest purity of cocaine per one gram sold on the street. That made existing users to get the drug from us and abandon the existing sellers', he said. 'That made my organization where I was to become the main suppliers of cocaine for Portsmouth and Bournemouth before being peddled on the streets. 'In 2009/10 we dropped the price for a kilo of cocaine from £35,000 to £30,000. 'That was a game changer for the market at that time'. NCA last year said the Albanian-linked drugs trade was active across the country in cities, towns and even rural areas. The agency said Albanian gangs are smuggling 'hundreds of millions' in sterling out of the UK each year. 'Their main objective when they make money is to get it out of the country as soon as possible,' Steve Brocklesby, Intelligence Manager from NCA said. 'They will smuggle it out of the UK into Albania in whatever form it comes'. 'The estimates are that hundreds of millions of pounds UK sterling are leaving the UK and ending up in Albania where it then gets semi-legitimised either into the banking system or to pay for construction work. 'We also know that Albanians will move UK cash into bureau de change the UK and Europe, change for euros and drive that down to Albania. 'We can expect to see an increase in use of crypto and other less regulated investments in the UK, as well as direct investments into the UK in the coming years.'
CTV News
21-05-2025
- CTV News
Man wanted for murder in N.W.T. arrested in B.C.
A man wanted for murder and aggravated assault in a triple-shooting in the Northwest Territories has been arrested in B.C., according to authorities. Krystian Cogswell, 22, was arrested at a home in West Kelowna on May 15 while Mounties 'executed an unrelated search warrant,' according to the Northwest Territories RCMP. He remains in custody and will be transported to the Northwest Territories to face charges, police added. Cogswell was charged with one count of murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of aggravated assault after a shooting in Fort Providence on Saturday, March 15. The RCMP has said the shooting appears to be linked to the drug trade. At the time of the Fort Providence shooting, Cogswell was on bail and under court-ordered conditions to live in B.C. and 'not be present' in the Northwest Territories.
