“The global supply of cocaine is on the rise should put all of us on high alert“said UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly. “Power for the cocaine market to Expanding in Africa and Asia is a dangerous reality.”
Sky high supply and demand
Criminal networks are now changing with dramatic results along with record levels of production, moving beyond the pandemic and the shutdown of the connected world, which appears to have caused illegal trade for some time, UNODC said. in its World Report on Cocaine 2023.
To answer the best, Mrs. Waly urged governments and others to closely examine the report’s findings to determine as this transnational threat can meet with transnational responses based on awareness raising, prevention, and international and regional cooperation.
Travel to Africa and Asia
The report explains how coca cultivation rose 35 percent from 2020 to 2021, record high and those a year-on-year increase from 2016.
The increase is the result of both an expansion in coca cultivation and improvements in the process of converting the coca plant into cocaine hydrochloride, the drug that is sold on the street.
Provision of appropriate preparation a high growth in demand, with many regions showing a steady rise in cocaine users over the past decade. While the cocaine market is largely concentrated in the United States and parts of Europe, the report warns that there is potential. potential for greater expansion in Africa and Asia.
The inspection reports emergence of new hubs for cocaine trafficking, note that countries in Southeast Europe and Africa – especially those in West and Central Africa – is increasingly being used as area crossing button for the medicine.
Stations on the North Sea such as Antwerp, Rotterdam, and Hamburg, meanwhile, are eclipsed traditional entry points in Spain and Portugal, for cocaine in Western Europe. Traffickers are also diversifying their routes in Central America by sending more and more cocaine to Europe, in addition to North America.
Record-high shock
Arrests and seizures are also on the rise. The effects of cocaine shipments by law enforcement around the world recorded seizures reaching a record high of almost 2,000 tons in 2021.
The report shows a criminal landscape divided into thousands of trafficking networks. Examining these groups’ policies, the report found new traffickers worldwide gap and the quantity called “service provider“for a fee” full-service loan services.
For example, the formation of fighters from the Revolutionary Forces of Colombia (FARC), which has controlled many of the previous ones. ColombiaGrowing coca communities, creates an opening for others to enter. This too new, local actors, former FARC fighters, and foreign groups from Mexico and Europethe report shows.
Tracking trends
Angela Me, Head of UNODC’s Research and Analysis Department, said the report was a the issue of further information about the phenomenon.
“With you new knowledge and trends on routes, methods, and networks Staffed by criminal actors,” he said, “I hope the report will supporting evidence-based skills which was ahead of future developments in cocaine production, trafficking, and use. “
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