![]() ![]() ![]() In 2014, the UN Secretary-General highlighted organised crime as one of the primary factors affecting conflict and stability, obstructing economic development and legitimate commerce, and holding people, communities, and countries captive in a negative spiral of fragility and underdevelopment. The United Nations Secretary-General's High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges, and Change cited transnational crime as one of six key global security challenges (Daryan Shamkhali/Unsplash)Īt the global level, transnational crime is recognised as a multi-dimensional driver of state fragility. The analysis highlights the inter-connectedness of transnational criminal activities and the need for a holistic mapping of those connections to better understand the transnational crime landscape and the intersections with national and local level Pacific criminal networks. ![]() This paper focuses on two highly addictive stimulants - crystal methamphetamine and cocaine - as well as precursors and chemicals necessary for their manufacturing. This analysis identifies the key trends and dynamics driving the drug market in the Pacific and the implications for societies, traditional power structures, and states. This growth has been driven by the spill-over effect of trafficked drugs into local markets, spreading from largely elite and expatriate populations into the wider community, and the arrival of criminal deportees from Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. Of equal significance has been the emergence of indigenous regional organised crime groups and networks with links to organised crime syndicates in Australia, New Zealand, and further afield. It is valuable to Asian organised crime syndicates and Mexican and South American cartels as a transit route and occasional production site, targeting the lucrative markets in Australia and New Zealand where the street value of methamphetamine and cocaine is amongst the highest in the world. Situated along a maritime corridor utilised for legitimate trade between major economic markets on the Asian and American borders of the Pacific Rim, the region has been a principal trans-shipment hub for drugs. In particular, the period has seen a significant increase in the trafficking of methamphetamine, cocaine, and precursors. Over the past two decades, increased connectivity within and across the Pacific Islands region (hereafter “the Pacific”) has enhanced its broad economic opportunities as well as exacerbated its vulnerabilities. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |