Maritime drug smuggling into Australia

Last updated

Maritime drug smuggling into Australia refers to the smuggling of illicit drugs into Australia by sea. While much contemporary Australian media coverage has focused on smaller, more personalised smuggling cases such as the Bali Nine, maritime drug smuggling often allows criminal groups to move illicit drugs and substances into Australia at a much greater scale. This has happened through a variety of ways, including via cargo ship, yacht, and fishing vessels. Key departure locations for drugs aimed to be smuggled into Australia include China, India, Southeast Asia, and the Americas, with much of the drugs trafficked via countries and territories in the South Pacific, in close proximity to Australia. [1]

Contents

The key drugs trafficked to Australia by sea are methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin. Key groups involved in such operations include outlaw motorcycle gangs, Mexican drug cartels, and Asian crime syndicates. Parties that attempt to combat maritime drug smuggling into Australia include the Australian Government, Australian Border Force, Australian Federal Police, Royal Australian Navy, and state police with responses including transnational cooperation, surveillance, maritime patrols, and seizures. Maritime drug smuggling into Australia is still very much a contemporary issue, with ongoing efforts in this area.

Background

The key drugs trafficked into Australia by sea are methamphetamine (and its precursors), most commonly known as ice, as well as cocaine, and heroin. Groups which participate in this practice include Australian outlaw biker gangs, Mexican drug cartels, Asian drug syndicates, and those operating in smaller crime rings. Key groups involved in anti-drug smuggling measures in Australia include the Australian Government, Australian Border Force, Australian Federal Police, State Police Forces, and the Royal Australian Navy.

Australia is seen as an attractive target for criminal organisations involved in maritime drug trafficking due to the high price of drugs in Australia, and high demand for drugs in Australia. A kilogram of methamphetamine in Australia is priced at roughly 80 times the price of its cost in China. [2] A kilogram of cocaine in Sydney would yield roughly $250,000 Australian Dollars, whereas it would cost $16,000 in Brownsville, Texas. [3] Based on information gained from key seizures, some key methods of drug smugglers into Australia include doing so through fishing boats, yachts and large container ships. The final method is one of key concern, as a container ship creates the potential to smuggle large quantities of drugs, with container inspecting capabilities remaining limited. [4]

Drug types

Methamphetamine

With heroin in Australia becoming less accessible, methamphetamines have risen in popularity and usage within Australia, with an overrepresentation of users in proportion to the population when compared to other nations. [5] As a result, organised crime syndicates have been targeting Australia due to the demand and profits the trafficking of methamphetamine to Australia would yield, with the price of a kilogram of methamphetamine in Australia being roughly 80 times higher than the price in China. [2] 200,000 Australians reported using the drug in 2013, and 60 times as much methamphetamine being seized at the Australian border in 2014 when compared to statistics dating to 2010. [2]

Over 3 tonnes of methamphetamine precursor drugs (mostly manufactured in China and India) were seized between 2012 and 2014. However, despite this increased number of seizures, domestic production of methamphetamine has not decreased, which is a cause of concern. This can be demonstrated by higher numbers of clandestine laboratories being detected in 2014 (744) when compared to 2005 (381). [6]

Due to its profitability, many transnational crime groups have begun to focus on methamphetamine trafficking in Australia, with over 60% of high risk criminal targets on the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission National Targeting List being involved in the trade, [6] with 45% of this being outlaw motorcycle gangs, [6] who have been known to also partner with other transnational crime groups including Mexican drug cartels, who have in turn been known to deal with not only outlaw motorcycle gangs, but Lebanese, Asian and Albanian groups within Australia. [3] While Australia’s methamphetamine market was traditionally dominated by outlaw motorcycle gangs, the current picture sees increased interaction between these groups and Chinese organised crime groups, with 70% of methamphetamine detections between 2011 and 2016 coming from China. [7]

The increased targeting of Australia as a destination for groups involved in the trafficking of methamphetamines has also led to more actions by groups such as the Australian Border Force and Australian Federal Police. One example is the large, complex bust in the remote Geraldton, Western Australia, where 1.2 tonnes of the drug with a value of $1.04 billion Australian dollars were seized, just a year after the seizure of 182 kilograms of methamphetamines at the same port. [8] While the drugs were destined for the East Coast of Australia, Geraldton seemed to have been selected as initial destination due to its isolation, with only a small population of seasonal fishermen. [8]

A more recent notable example is a drug bust of January 2019, where 1,728 kilograms of methamphetamine with a street value of A$1.29 billion destined for Australia hidden inside loudspeakers were seized at the Port of Los Angeles-Port of Long Beach, [9] This bust also revealed new ties between Australian biker gangs and Mexican drug cartels [10] which further confirmed the belief that Mexican cartels were actively targeting Australia.

Cocaine

Cocaine in Australia is another drug that is increasing in popularity amongst drug users in Australia, with sharply increasing cocaine seizures in Australia. [3] The majority of the cocaine originates in South and Central America, and much of this is smuggled to Australia via island states in the South Pacific, where cocaine-trafficking cartels have set up base in order to import cocaine into Australia. [11] There is a trend where this cocaine is smuggled aboard yachts travelling to and from Australia and South Pacific states/territories such as Vanuatu, Tahiti, and New Caledonia. Seven hundred kilograms of cocaine smuggled on a yacht was seized by Australian Federal Police in 2011, and another 750 kilograms were seized in 2013. [11] However, cocaine is also smuggled into Australia through freight, the postal system and through couriers. [3] With record prices in Australia, it is self explanatory that groups such as Mexican cartels are targeting Australia. While a kilogram of cocaine sold in the US still represents a profit for the cartel, there is a significant mark-up for that same kilogram in Australia, with a kilogram being worth $16,000 in Brownsville, Texas, and $250,000 in Sydney. [3]

There have been several notable maritime cocaine busts in Australia in recent years. In 2017, 700 kilograms of cocaine moved from Tahiti to the East Coast of Australia in a yacht were seized after a multi-agency investigation involving the Australian Border Force, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, Australian Federal Police and New South Wales Police Force. [12]

Heroin

Heroin use has a rich history in Australia, with opiates being used extensively in the 19th century, eventually leading to prohibition in the mid 1950s. However, the heroin market grew after the Vietnam War and led to large amounts of heroin users and a rise in overdose deaths by the 1980s and 1990s. [13] Although planes were used previously, from the 1990s, heroin traffickers began to utilise modified steel-hulled vessels in order to supply the drug to Australia. [14]

Much of the heroin being consumed between 2006 and 2016 has originated in the Golden Triangle consisting of Myanmar and the Lao People's Democratic Republic, and the Golden Crescent encompassing Pakistan and Afghanistan. [15] Even though heroin use in Australia is not at levels previously seen, the weight of heroin detections did increase from 256.1 kilograms to 513.8 kilograms between 2012 and 2013. The vulnerability of the South Pacific island territories and states are demonstrated further when examining maritime heroin trafficking to Australia with much of these passing through pacific island states and territories including Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. [16] Organised crime groups in the Greater Mekong Subregion in Southeast Asia, a long-associated area to heroin production, have begun to intensify production and trafficking of methamphetamines, with opium and heroin production in the region declining in 2018. [17]

Heroin trafficking in Australia also had a unique case in the form of the Pong Su incident in 2003, which involved not a criminal syndicate or syndicates, but likely a state, when a North Korea cargo ship was suspected of smuggling 125 kilograms of heroin into Australia, [18] leading to the US Government declaring that it is of high probability that North Korea are engaging in state-sponsored drug trafficking.

Key routes

As established previously, while the drugs being trafficked into Australia do not tend to originate in the South Pacific, much of the drugs do in fact pass through South Pacific states and territories, of which key origin points are South America and Asia. [19] For cocaine, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report that the most important departure countries for Australia-bound cocaine are the United States, Canada, Argentina and Brazil. [20]

The Pacific islands have been viewed as vulnerable to maritime drug trafficking activities for some time, given their location representing a stop-over for Pacific operations between Asia, the Americas and Australia, as well as helping to disguise routes. [21] In addition, the lack of law enforcement capabilities and the existence of corruption complicates matters.

While exact routes taken by maritime drug traffickers targeting Australia will be almost impossible to determine, the common denominator between much of these routes is that the drugs will pass through Pacific Island states and territories on Australia’s doorstep.

Criminal groups are increasingly exploiting vulnerable Pacific states and territories in order to move drugs to the Australian market. [22] Much of these states experience a lack of anti-trafficking capabilities and therefore a lack of ability to independently police their waters. [23] As of 2016, only Fiji, Tonga, the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia are party to the United Nations drug control convention in the region.

Much of the drug-related laws in the region cannot keep pace with modern trends, for example criminalising synthetic drugs. [19] The transnational Pacific Drug and Alcohol Research Network has been inactive since 2011 due to financial constraints, and Pacific law enforcement agencies work in relative isolation, while being up against criminal groups with sophisticated transnational networks. [19]

Key participants

It is likely that anyone who participates in large-scale maritime drug smuggling into Australia is, or is linked to, a criminal organisation, but the degree to which this might happen can vary.  Participants may be directly part of crime groups such as Asian drug gangs, Mexican cartels, or Australian outlaw biker groups, or smaller groups or even individuals operating in rings.

Some have argued that the post-9/11 preoccupation of terrorism has led to gaps in investigation and intelligence to combat the modern, ever-sophisticated transnational criminal networks. [24] Such networks include not only the previously mentioned partnerships between Mexican cartels and Australia-based criminal groups, but also for example partnerships between Mexican cartels and Chinese organised crime groups. [25] In order to improve their resilience, these cartels have also become organisations dealing with many kinds of drugs, as well as other activities such as people smuggling and extortion. [24]

A variety of push and pull factors can help to explain the presence of Mexican cartels in Australia, [26] with the lower demand for cocaine coupled with higher profitability seen in operating in Australia or Europe leading to these cartels to branch out away from only Mexico, with Australia having some of the world’s highest prices for drugs in the world, while still having a large demand from drug users.

Chinese crime groups are also active in contributing to maritime methamphetamine trafficking to Australia, and are also collaborating with Australian outlaw motorcycle gangs, with a significant percentage of methamphetamine seized at the border coming from China.

Key responses

Australia has responded through law enforcement, naval forces, and policy in order to attempt to combat the issue of maritime drug smuggling into Australia, with many transnational cooperation initiatives and joint organisational busts.

The Australian Navy seeks to control maritime crime as a priority, both on its own and with transnational partnerships and groupings also. [27] This includes counter-narcotics operations. Some notable operations include the now decommissioned warship HMAS Darwin being part of Operation Slipper, which was the Australian Defence Force’s contribution to an international campaign against drug trafficking, piracy and terrorism in the Indian Ocean. [28] This served as a deterrent and monitoring capability, but has also yielded tangible results as seen in the 2014 seizure of the record heroin haul at sea (over 1 tonne) together with the Royal Navy. [28] HMAS Arunta is also deployed to the East Coast of Africa in order to disrupt the flow of drug money to terrorist organisations as part of a larger international effort against terrorism. [29] The United Nations estimates that over half of the Taliban's income stems from the narcotics trade. [29] The federal police have also of course been a key role in responses to maritime drug trafficking to Australia, with it playing a key role in many busts, including the cocaine busts in the South Pacific crackdown. [11]

Policy responses include attempting to lessen the ice (methamphetamine) issue in Australia through the National Ice Taskforce’s nation-wide strategy and the July 2016 commitment from the Australian government to spend nearly A$300 million in the next 4 years in educational, preventative, treatment, community engagement initiatives in order to combat methamphetamine. [7] The 2018 A$293 million allocation in the budget to improve airport security and cargo screening [30] is also a response and potential deterrent to would-be drug traffickers targeting Australia. However, it is important to mention that as of 2016, Australia does not have a clear strategy with which to engage with Association of Southeast Asian Nations's law enforcement agencies to tackle the shared transnational problem of narcotics smuggling, [31] which can be seen as an area of necessary improvement and increased importance going forward.

There is also the opportunity for Australian authorities to try to tackle maritime drug smuggling by employing resources typically used for other means, by essentially expanding the duties of certain initiatives or organisations. This may be a theme of increasing prevalence in the South Pacific due to aforementioned lack of capabilities. One such example of this is the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) based in Honiara, of which Australia is a member. The FFA surveillance centre monitors up to 30 million square kilometres of ocean, [32] encompassing the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of 15 island nations not including Australia and New Zealand. While this is done to monitor tuna fishing vessels in order to protect tuna fishing license income, its operations can expand to monitor drug smuggling and other similar issues such as people smuggling with a marginal cost increase. [32]

See also

Related Research Articles

The illegal drug trade, drug trafficking, or narcotrafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through the use of drug prohibition laws. The think tank Global Financial Integrity's Transnational Crime and the Developing World report estimates the size of the global illicit drug market between US$426 and US$652 billion in 2014 alone. With a world GDP of US$78 trillion in the same year, the illegal drug trade may be estimated as nearly 1% of total global trade. Consumption of illegal drugs is widespread globally, and it remains very difficult for local authorities to reduce the rates of drug consumption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia)</span> Opium-producing region in Southeast Asia

The Golden Triangle is a large, mountainous region of approximately 200,000 km2 (77,000 sq mi) in northeastern Myanmar, northwestern Thailand and northern Laos, centered on the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong rivers. The name "Golden Triangle" was coined by Marshall Green, a U.S. State Department official, in 1971 in a press conference on the opium trade. Today, the Thai side of the river confluence, Sop Ruak, has become a tourist attraction, with the House of Opium Museum, a Hall of Opium, and a Golden Triangle Park, and no opium cultivation.

The illegal drug trade in China is influenced by factors such as history, location, size, population, and current economic conditions. China has one-sixth of the world's population and a large and expanding economy. China's large land mass, close proximity to the Golden Triangle, Golden Crescent, and numerous coastal cities with large and modern port facilities make it an attractive transit center for drug traffickers. Opium has played an important role in the country's history since before the First and Second Opium Wars in the mid-19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Vancouver</span> Port in British Columbia, Canada

The Port of Vancouver is the largest port in Canada and the fourth largest in North America by tonnes of cargo, facilitating trade between Canada and more than 170 world economies. The port is managed by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, which was created in 2008 as an amalgamation of the former Port of Vancouver, the North Fraser Port Authority, and the Fraser River Port Authority. It is the principal authority for shipping and port-related land and sea use in the Metro Vancouver region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sinaloa Cartel</span> Transnational drug-trafficking organization

The Sinaloa Cartel, also known as the Guzmán-Loera Organization, the Federation, the Blood Alliance, or the Pacific Cartel, is a large, transnational organized crime syndicate based in the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico that specializes in illegal drug trafficking and money laundering.

The Chaldean mafia, or Chaldean organized crime, is a collective of criminal organizations composed of Chaldean Catholic Assyrians which emerged in the United States during the 1980s. Chaldean organized crime is active primarily in Detroit, as well as in San Diego, California, and Phoenix, Arizona.

A drug lord, drug baron, kingpin, or lord of drugs is a type of crime boss in charge of a drug trafficking network, organization, or enterprise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Familia Michoacana</span> Mexican cartel and organized crime syndicate

La Familia Michoacana, La Familia, is a Mexican drug cartel and organized crime syndicate based in the Mexican state of Michoacán. They are known to produce large amounts of methamphetamine in clandestine laboratories in Michoacan. Formerly allied to the Gulf Cartel—as part of Los Zetas—it split off in 2006. The cartel was founded by Carlos Rosales Mendoza, a close associate of Osiel Cárdenas. The second leader, Nazario Moreno González, known as El Más Loco, preached his organization's divine right to eliminate enemies. He carried a "bible" of his own sayings and insisted that his army of traffickers and hitmen avoid using the narcotics they produce and sell. Nazario Moreno's partners were José de Jesús Méndez Vargas, Servando Gómez Martínez and Enrique Plancarte Solís, each of whom has a bounty of $2 million for his capture, and were contesting the control of the organization.

The Illegal drug trade in Puerto Rico is a problem from a criminal, social, and medical perspective. Located in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico has become a major transshipment point for drugs into the United States. Violent and property crimes have increased due in part to dealers trying to keep their drug business afloat, using guns and violence to protect themselves, their turfs, and drug habits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime in Slovakia</span>

Slovakia is a Central European country with a history of relatively low crime. While crime became more widespread after the Revolutions of 1989, it remains low when compared to many other post-communist countries.

Indo-Canadian organized crime is made up predominantly of young adults and teenagers of Indian ethnic, cultural and linguistic background. Collectively, these groups are among the top 5 major homegrown organized crime hierarchy across the nation in Canada coming in 3rd place, after the Asian Triads and White biker gangs. The 2004 RCMP British Columbia Annual Police Report ranked them third in terms of organization and sophistication in British Columbia, ranked behind outlaw motorcycle clubs and aforementioned Chinese criminal organizations such as the Triads drug clans.

The prevalence of illegal drug use in the Philippines is lower than the global average, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). President Rodrigo Duterte has claimed that the country could become a "narco-state". Two of the most used and valuable illegal drugs in the country are methamphetamine hydrochloride and marijuana. In 2012, the United Nations said the Philippines had the highest rate of methamphetamine use in East Asia, and according to a U.S. State Department report, 2.1 percent of Filipinos aged 16 to 64 use the drug based on 2008 figures by the Philippines Dangerous Drugs Board. As of 2016, the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime report that 1.1 percent of Filipinos aged 10 to 69 use the drug. In Metro Manila, most barangays are affected by illegal drugs.

Operation Terminus was a 30-month investigation into a Sinaloa Cartel drug smuggling ring in Arizona, California and Indiana. Beginning sometime in 2012, Operation Terminus investigators seized $7.5 million in cash, 485 pounds of methamphetamine, 50 Kilograms of cocaine, 4.5 pounds of heroin and 37 guns, including assault rifles, sniper rifles, and various other small arms. 77 suspects were indicted, and an "extensive drug trafficking network" stretching from Sinaloa, to Phoenix, Arizona, Los Angeles, and Indianapolis, was uncovered. Police officials have also reported that as result of the legalization of marijuana in some U.S. states, Mexican cartels are turning to more dangerous illegals drugs to make up for lost profits. A police spokesman in Tempe, Arizona, Lieutenant Mike Pooley commented on the situation: "They are plowing marijuana fields and planting opiates. It's killing our youths. It's an epidemic."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime in Costa Rica</span>

Costa Rica is a Central American nation that boasts of a noteworthy safety record on crime as compared to its neighbors in the region. It is one of few nations that have abolished their nation's armed forces. Having had a stable past, this country has been successful in developing its economy. However, since 2000 there has been a significant rise in criminal activity. Increase in domestic illegal activity, such as theft, homicide, and organised crime, has overwhelmed the local population. Sebastian Huhn reports that, "In a public opinion poll in 2011, 45 percent of Costa Rican respondents said that crime and insecurity were the country’s biggest social problems." As a consequence of the overall societal changes, domestic-driven crime has been increasing in the environment that extends beyond traditional settings. Illegal activity, including distribution of weapons has been most commonly witnessed during the sporting events by 'barras' or fan clubs. Crime in Costa Rica, thus, is not only due to domestic crime groups but also transnational criminal organisations.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the drug trade in West Africa rapidly expanded amid dramatic increases in US and European demand for cocaine, cannabis, and other drugs. This resulted in the expansion of two distinct trade routes, both of which went through West Africa. One route exported domestically produced cannabis from West Africa to South Africa, Europe, and Asia. The other trade route moved cocaine from Latin America and heroin from Afghanistan and Southeast Asia to Europe and the United States. In both of these routes, drug traffickers took advantage of trading networks created by Malian and Berber traders in colonial times to move drugs through the region, as well as West Africa's broader geographical location as an intermediate stop from Latin America and Southwest Asia to Europe and the United States. This was due in part to West Africa's badly policed borders, endemic corruption, and economic inequalities.

East African drug trade refers to the sale and trafficking of illegal drugs that take place in East African countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Somalia, and Ethiopia. The most prevalent types of drugs traded in East Africa are heroin, marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, and khat, all of which are strictly prohibited in East African countries.

The illegal drug trade in Japan is the illegal production, transport, sale, and use of prohibited drugs in Japan. The drug trade is influenced by various factors, including history, economic conditions, and cultural norms. While methamphetamine is historically the most widely trafficked illegal drug in post-World War II Japan, marijuana, cocaine, and other prohibited substances are also present. Additionally, Japan's status as a developed economy and the presence of organized crime in Japan have made it a target of the international drug trade.

Maritime drug trafficking in Latin America is the primary mean of transportation of illegal drugs produced in this region to global consumer markets. Cocaine is the primary illegal drug smuggled through maritime routes because all of its cultivation and production is settled in the Andean region of South America.

Maritime cocaine smuggling refers to the practice which involves the smuggling of cocaine between borders via maritime means. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), there are an estimated 18 million users of cocaine globally. Approximately 70–80% of cocaine is at some point smuggled across the ocean, originating from South America. Cocaine remains the "highest value criminal commodity for transnational organised crime", motivating the criminal organisations responsible for maritime smuggling practices. Maritime cocaine smuggling is therefore an ongoing international issue, as criminal organisations are finding new and innovative ways of smuggling cocaine and go undetected by authorities.

Seychelles is a small island nation with a vast maritime territory, consisting of 115 islands and a 137-million-square-kilometre (53-million-square-mile) Exclusive Economic Zone. The prevalence of drugs in the country is high and the country is experiencing a heroin epidemic, with an equivalent to 10% of the working force using heroin in 2019. Due to its location along a major trafficking route, drugs can easily be trafficked by sea to the Seychelles.

References

  1. ↑ UNODC. 2018. “World Drug Report 2018 Booklet 3: Analysis of Drug Markets” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, pp. 33.
  2. 1 2 3 Ryan, Nigel. 2017. “Ice dragon: a proposal to target the supply of methamphetamine from China to Australia” Indo-Pacific Strategic Papers, Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies, pp. 2.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Burnett, John (2 March 2012). "Mexican Drug Cartel Targets Australia". NPR . Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  4. ↑ Pottenger, Mike (22 February 2013). "The true cost of cocaine" . Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  5. ↑ Ryan, Nigel. 2017. “Ice dragon: a proposal to target the supply of methamphetamine from China to Australia” Indo-Pacific Strategic Papers, Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies pp. 1
  6. 1 2 3 Ryan, Nigel. 2017. “Ice dragon: a proposal to target the supply of methamphetamine from China to Australia” Indo-Pacific Strategic Papers, Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies, pp. 3
  7. 1 2 Ryan, Nigel. 2017. “Ice dragon: a proposal to target the supply of methamphetamine from China to Australia” Indo-Pacific Strategic Papers, Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies, pp. 4.
  8. 1 2 Perpitch, Nicholas (22 December 2017). "Australia's record meth bust: Why do drug smugglers target Geraldton?". ABC News. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  9. ↑ Marshallsea, Trevor (8 February 2019). "6 people arrested after largest US-Australian meth seizure". Associated Press . Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  10. ↑ "US drug bust exposes ties between Mexican cartels, Aussie biker gangs". The Straits Times. Agence France-Presse. 10 February 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  11. 1 2 3 Baker, Richard; Mckenzie, Nick (30 November 2013). "Drug cartels target Australia from South Pacific bases" . Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  12. ↑ Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission. 2017. “Alleged drug smuggling syndicate dismantled after cocaine-filled yacht intercepted in multi-agency investigation” Joint Media Releases, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, 16 November. 2017
  13. ↑ Gibson, Amy, Louisa Degenhardt, Libby Topp, Carolyn Day, Wayne Hall, Paul Dietze & Rebecca McKetin. 2003. “Global and Australian Heroin Markets” National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, page viii
  14. ↑ Gibson, Amy, Louisa Degenhardt, Libby Topp, Carolyn Day, Wayne Hall, Paul Dietze & Rebecca McKetin. 2003. “Global and Australian Heroin Markets” National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, page 24
  15. ↑ UNODC. 2016. “Transnational Organized Crime in the Pacific: A Threat Assessment” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, pp 22
  16. ↑ UNODC. 2016. “Transnational Organized Crime in the Pacific: A Threat Assessment” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, pp. 6.
  17. ↑ UNODC. 2018. “’Alarming Levels’ of methamphetamine trafficking in Asia’s Mekong, UN warns” UNODC, 22 May 2018
  18. ↑ BBC News. 2004. “N Korea ‘trafficking drugs’ BBC News, 2 March 2004
  19. 1 2 3 UNODC. 2016. “Transnational Organized Crime in the Pacific: A Threat Assessment” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, pp 17.
  20. ↑ UNODC. 2018. “World Drug Report 2018 Booklet 3: Analysis of Drug Markets” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, pp 33.
  21. ↑ Schloenhardt, Andreas, “Drugs, Sex and Guns: Organised Crime in the South Pacific” in Regionalising International Criminal Law in the Pacific, edited by N Boister and A Costi, 159-184. Wellington, 2006 pp 165.
  22. ↑ Ensor, Blair and Tony Wall. 2016. “Corruption in Paradise: International crime groups target vulnerable Pacific countries” Stuff, 4 November 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  23. ↑ McVeigh, Karen (16 October 2018). "Drug trafficking at sea is devastating island states, ministers say". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  24. 1 2 Baldino, Daniel and Anthea McCarthy-Jones. 2016. “The Mexican Drug Trade and Australia” Australian Institute of International Affairs, 21 September 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2019
  25. ↑ McCarthy-Jones, A and Baldino, D. 2016. “Mexican drug cartels and their Australian connections: Tracking and disrupting dark networks” Journal of the Australian Institute of Professional Intelligence Officers 24(1): 19-33. pp 28.
  26. ↑ McCarthy-Jones, A and Baldino, D. 2016. “Mexican drug cartels and their Australian connections: Tracking and disrupting dark networks” Journal of the Australian Institute of Professional Intelligence Officers 24(1): 19-33. pp 24
  27. ↑ Percy, Sarah. 2016. “Maritime Crime and Naval Response” Survival 58 (3): 155-186. pp 159
  28. 1 2 The Telegraph Foreign Staff. 2014. “British and Australian navies seize largest ever heroin haul at sea” The Telegraph, 25 April 2014. 29 May 2019
  29. 1 2 Fisher, Alexandra (3 November 2017). "On the high seas, the Australian Navy prosecutes the war on drug". ABC News. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  30. ↑ Bartle, Jarryd (9 May 2018). "If you order drugs online, what are the chances of getting caught by border security?" . Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  31. ↑ Coyne, John (27 June 2016). "Australia's Role in ASEAN's Drug Tsunami" . Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  32. 1 2 Armbruster, Stefan (10 September 2016). "Tuna swoop sets net for Pacific drug and people smugglers" . Retrieved 28 May 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.