The effort is based on the Golden Triangle, where the borders of Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos meet and from where illegal substances including drugs are transported to profitable markets across Southeast Asia.
UN News spoke with Jeremy Douglas, Regional Representative of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, on the mission to the border region.
Jeremy Douglas, UNODC Regional Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, in the Golden Triangle in Thailand.
Jeremy Douglas: I am standing in northern Thailand, in the Golden Triangle, with Laos and Myanmar directly behind me on the banks of the Mekong River. It is one of the largest drug trafficking corridors in the world. In the state of Shan, Myanmar, there is a major production of heroin and opium, but also synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine which are sold throughout the region and consume the entire Asia Pacific. [region]Basically from Japan all the way down to New Zealand and everywhere in between.
There are complex governance issues within Myanmar with many subdivisions governing different areas. Drug production often occurs in very remote areas where borders are open and porous; it is very easy to smuggle things in and out of Myanmar, causing challenges for its neighbors.
UN News: How is the drug trade developing in this region?
Jeremy Douglas: What we have seen in the last ten years and really said in the last three to four years is a decline in plant-based medicines. There has been a slight resurgence in opium since the military took over in Myanmar, as farmers are returning to growing the drug after losing other livelihood activities. However, we see an overall downward trend in terms of plant-based medicines.
We also see a large operation in synthetic drugs produced by organized crime networks, which have migrated their operations from other parts of the region because they can operate with relative impunity. They have invested in building large drug production facilities.
UN News: What kind of new response does this require?
Jeremy Douglas: It requires governments to cooperate at different levels, especially front cooperation at borders where trafficking takes place. This means sharing information and conducting joint operations to stop the delivery to Myanmar of the chemicals needed to make synthetic drugs and to prevent the trade of hundreds of tons of drugs in another way.
It also needs to tackle the business of organized crime, including money laundering and all other nasty elements associated with the trafficking of many items, including wild products, arms, and even human trafficking.
The cargo is loaded onto a ship in Laos to be transported across the Mekong river to Thailand.
UN News: How important is that cooperation?
Jeremy Douglas: Cooperation is fundamental, because transnational crime is a shared responsibility. Coordination and cooperation are essential, as a quick response is often required at these border points. This is why UNODC has supported the establishment of 120 border compliance offices, or BLOs, across the region that allow law enforcement agencies to share information and take action.
This collaboration is working; Our Thai colleagues have revealed a number of cases of human trafficking, smuggling of migrants as well as drug, timber, and arms trafficking that they have broken down with the help of colleagues in different BLOs.
In Laos, government officials have been the first to recognize the emerging global trend. The chemicals that are used to make synthetic drugs are called precursors, and these are imported into illegal industries. Now our colleagues in Laos have discovered the business of so-called precursors – chemicals used to make precursors.
The Thai Navy has been conducting joint operations in the Mekong region with its counterparts in China, Laos, and Viet Nam.
UN News: What are the challenges faced by BLOs?
Jeremy Douglas: They need to be supported to develop and adapt to the crime environment which does not stand still. Law enforcement officers need to understand new trends, to have new information, so they know what to expect and how to deal with it.
Importantly, these networks also require political support. It can be challenging for States to cooperate on such non-traditional security issues, as they are often viewed as highly sensitive national issues. So that is where the UN can step in and play an important role to help facilitate dialogue between States.
The fact that governments and local law enforcement agencies are readily sharing information is a great achievement and a credit to the UN.
UN News: How does illegal trafficking in a relatively small area connect with the larger area of national, regional, and international organized crime?
Jeremy Douglas: Organized crime trafficking groups that dominate the Asia Pacific region, play a global role in the drug trade and other illegal activities. They seek shelters where it is easy for them to do business and work without guilt.
They are looking for chaos, lack of control, porous borders, and which they can find in parts of the Golden Triangle. So really, it’s an organized crime scene.
UN News: How does the work that takes place here connect or affect people living in other parts of the world?
Jeremy DouglasThe drugs made here make it to the Pacific, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan, so we see very strong drugs on the streets of Sydney or Tokyo that lead to addiction and all the destructive effects they have on the individuals, families, and the wider community.
Synthetic drugs sold out of the Golden Triangle end up on the streets of Tokyo, Japan (pictured) and other markets in Southeast Asia.
UN News: How can we transfer this model set by UNODC to other parts of the world?
Jeremy Douglas: It’s definitely a moving concept. UNODC works on a similar network in Central Asia and North Africa. But, there are other places in the world, in Africa and in Latin America, which would really benefit from following the best model set up here in Southeast Asia, for example, southern and Central Africa has a great border crime .
We see much more heroin in southeast Africa, with heroin moving by sea into East Africa and then across land borders. And in Latin America, the cocaine trade is a cross-border trade in which cocaine passes through Ecuador, from developing countries Colombia and Bolivia, and further to the Balkans in Europe. So, there is a lot of work to be done.
Fast facts on border liaison offices (BLOs)
- Some 120 BLOs have been established across Southeast Asia.
- BLO is issued in pairs – on either side of the border crossing export.
- BLOs deal with a wide range of cross-border issues, including drug and chemical precursor trafficking, migrant smuggling, human trafficking, wildlife and forest crime, and, in some cases, the movement of terrorist fighters alongside public health and a pandemic-related issue.
- The BLO Network works to strengthen relationships between law enforcement and border communities, community policing efforts, and the role and leadership of women in law enforcement agencies.
