Afghan Drug Trafficking

The smuggling of drugs has been a part of the society for over a century in most parts of the world. This form of business has flourished mostly in the developed countries such as the United States of America, where the demand for drugs is high while there is no or very small production in the country. The production in the countries where drugs such as cocaine, heroin, cannabis, etc are supplied is banned mostly under the respective local laws, and therefore the drug trafficking business is used to bring in the supply in these countries as these markets have the potential of earning the drug business cartels huge amounts of money.

Multinational character of drug trade requires law enforcement being close to the source of the drug production. Given that many local governments in drug producing countries are weak and lack resources, an outside power, like DEA is necessary to train local law enforcement, cooperate with them, and provide intelligence to address the problem. Moreover, expansive character of drug trafficking networks and the traffickers opening new routes to accommodate new markets might complicate interception of the drugs as they leave the country of production. Therefore, DEA’s operations might have more success being in such countries and try to intercept the drugs before they leave their countries of

National Intelligence Analysis et al. (2010) claim that in the early 2000s, Canada's heroin market was controlled by South and Southwest Asia, and these regions took Southeast Asia's place. Since 2004, heroin seizures have been increasing even though heroin is allegedly one of the least commonly used illicit drugs in Canada (NIA et al., 2010). Asian, Latin American, and West African organized crime groups, functioning in Canada as well as in foreign countries, remained to be participants in smuggling and transporting heroin in Canada (NIA et al., 2010). That is not to say that Canadian organized crime groups were not participants in the heroin market; Canadian organized crime groups took part in the heroin trade as well (NIA et al., 2010).

It is clear that there have been increased occurrences of drug trafficking in the United States and the world as a whole. This increase in drug trafficking has resulted to a radical increase in the number of people who are affected by the illegal drugs. In the United States, the number has risen to about 19.9 billions. This paper will therefore discuss drug trafficking, its causes, effects, prevention and war against it. Whoever will read this paper, he or she will be able to take care of themselves from drug selling, consumption and production. The person will also be able to teach and help others on how to leave or protect themselves from drug abuse and trafficking.

South America continues to account for practically all global cultivation of coca bush, and South-West Asia (Afghanistan) and South East Asia (mainly the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Myanmar) continue to account for the vast majority of illicit opium poppy cultivation. Although the manufacture of ATS is difficult to assess, there are reports of ATS manufacture in all regions worldwide. There may have been no major change in the regions in which illicit crop cultivation and drug manufacture take place, but the illicit drug markets and the routes along which drugs are smuggled continue to be in a state of flux. The “dark net”, the anonymous online marketplace used for the illegal sale of a wide range of products, including drugs, is a prime example of the constantly changing situation, and it has profound implications for both law enforcement and drug

Alongside the need or want for drugs, a market is available to move, buy, and sell drugs usually run by small groups of individuals. There have been certain key players in regards to nations that have provided an environment for this market of cultivation and production of substances and trafficking. Often it is due to a lack of a strong government and a weak economy, pushing otherwise hard working, honest people to make a living by other means. Despite Colombia’s relatively strong economy and stable government, the following introduction of coca from Peru and Bolivia took hold. Colombia became one nation that largely contributed to cocaine and heroin trafficking. A country that initially produced and exported small amounts of cocaine in the early 1970’s now has a major role throughout the world.5

Like many other countries in Latin America and across the globe, Peru is no stranger to the economic and social impacts of illicit drug trade. However, unlike most other countries in the region like Colombia, Peru does not experience a high rate or organized crime or violence surrounding the drug trade. Although violence is minimal, the growth of cocoa and the production of cocaine is a massive industry within the country, creating an interesting dynamic between the people of Peru, those involved in the drug trade, and the Peruvian Government. The drug trade in Peru has been fueled by the geography, structure of the criminal groups involved, perceived corruption of the military and police forces, and an ineffective and overcrowded prison system.

Drug trafficking has been an ongoing epidemic in the United States, as well us other countries for an unimaginable amount of time. Illegal drugs varying from heroin and cocaine are primarily the main drugs that get smuggled in the United States from South America. Even marijuana and methamphetamine have been popular in the drug smuggling “industry”. These gangs go to a variety of different extents to get the job done. Drug trafficking increases the violence levels These drugs have been smuggled through the Southwest Border since the 1970s and are attempting to expand the distribution of those drugs into eastern U.S. markets. The countries of drug production have been seen as the worst affected by prohibition. In many countries worldwide, the illegal drug trafficking can be directly linked to high violent crimes. This is especially true in third world countries, but has still been seen as an issue for many developed countries all over the world. Drug trafficking increases the risk of violence and crime due rise of addiction along with an increase of death. It also effects the along with correctional system effects.to its high costs, Nearly all of the heroin produced in Mexico is destined for distribution in the United States. Organized crime groups operating from Mexico produce, smuggle, and distribute various illegal drugs after trafficking them across the US border. Trafficking groups that operate from Mexico tend to avoid penalties by their stealthy methods of smuggling

Drug trafficking has become an increasingly growing problem in the world today. Illegal drug trade is a worldwide black market consisting of production, distribution, packaging, and sale of illegal substances. Although today’s "War on Drugs" is a modern phenomenon, drug problems have been a common problem throughout history. The market for illegal drugs is massive, when we consider the estimated global drug trade value is worth $321 billion (Vulliamy). The most drug trafficking happens on the border between Mexico and the United States. Former Mexican President Felipe Calderon said, “Our neighbor is the largest consumer of drugs in the world. And everybody wants to sell him drugs through our door and our window”

These same leaders that had once shared a common enemy now turned against each other in a struggle for leadership control and power. As they had previously, they continued to fund their fighting with the proceeds from the production of opium. In 1989, according to a graph in the UNODC report titled, The Opium Economy in Afghanistan: An International Problem, Afghanistan provided 1000 metric tons of opium which was almost half of the global supply of opium for that year. (35, Chawla, Sandeep) The same graph shows that only 10 years earlier Afghanistan had only produced about 20% of the amount of opium it had in 1989. As the infighting and civil war continued so did the rise of opium production in Afghanistan. By 1994 when the year Taliban became prominent, Afghanistan was responsible for over 2000 metric tons of the global opium, which was more than half of the world’s opium production for that year. (35, Chawla, Sandeep)

Within a few weeks after 9/11, the CIA gave millions of dollars to the Northern Alliance to help with the fight against the Taliban. Obviously, the intelligence community wasn’t concerned with drug trafficking and in March of 2002 the U.S. State Department reported that the Northern Alliance had done nothing to curb the production of opium. As a result, in 2002, Afghanistan’s opium production had returned to a similar level (3,400 tons) before the ban from the Taliban. Afghanistan quickly regained its monopoly on the world’s opium supply, roughly 90% of the world’s opium.

The illegal business of drugs is very lucrative and criminals will use bribes to corrupt authorities. Corruption can involved the direct participation of authorities or the laissez faire attitude to facilitate the movement of drugs along Panama’s territory jeopardizing the good governance. Corruption does not only relate to authorities, but also in the society where many Panamanians accept bribes and prefer to work in drug business, rather than in an honest job. This problem can result in poverty, poor governance and distrust in authorities. In addition to the effectiveness of corruption, drug dealer will have to legalize the money they get. Money laundering is the mechanism to support and fund their activities. Moreover, terrorist organizations use money laundering to hide or conceal the origins and of their money. In the same way, the scale of money laundering can reach Latin American region and connect international terrorist organizations among them. For example, in 2011 Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) arrested a member of the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah for tracking cocaine and money laundering in Mexico, Colombia, and Panama. Narco-terrorism affects Panama and the region causing shocking problems for the government and society, destroying its moral values, bringing about corruption, and disguising

In a quiet corner of Helmand Province, poppies make on display, especially saddled by an association unendingly altogether consolidated into the medication exchange. The United States spent more than $7 billion in the past 14 years to fight the runaway poppy creation that has made Afghan opium the world's most noteworthy picture. Numerous billions more went to organization activities to stem contamination and train a dependable police power. The push to win over Afghans on past Taliban turf in Marja has put American and NATO commandants in the strange position of hawkishness against opium obliteration, setting them against some Afghan powers why ought to pushing pound the harvest. Afghan agriculturists who ranch opium bring home the bacon out of it. American Troops Are Protecting Afghan Opium. U.S. Occupation Leads to All-Time High Heroin Production.

A.J Vicens explains the ways in which the “war on drugs” in Afghanistan is doing more harm than good. Vicens explains that the poppy cultivation and opiate addiction right are at record setting levels. The total value of the poppy see is up to three billion dollars; one billion higher than in 2012. All of these numbers have risen despite the 7.6 billion dollars a year the United States spends to combat the drug trade. This information implies that the current approach the United states has used is not working. In order to effectively combat drug trade we must take a new approach.

The underground economy is a very complex structure, functioning outside the restrictions of legal and tax systems (Tradelinks, 2013). It is also vastly known as the world’s fastest growing economy. Afghanistan is a country located in Southern Asia, East of Iran and North and West of Pakistan. According to the official CIA website, the total population of this war-torn country is 31,108,077 (2013). The country of Afghanistan is often in the eyes of the media, and has had some very tough times because of its corrupt reputation. It is a country with many terrorist groups, such as Al Qaeda and Taliban. This essay will explore the underground economy in Afghanistan, specifically, what is happening in the country concerning guns, drugs and