EAST ASIA PACIFIC
Transnational organised crime flows generate $90 billion annually: UNODC
The Nation


Transnational crime flows

BANGKOK: -- Illicit markets in East Asia and the Pacific earn organised criminal groups nearly US$90 billion a year - an amount roughly equal to twice the GDP of Myanmar, according to a UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report released today.

The UNODC report, Transnational Organised Crime in East Asia and the Pacific: A Threat Assessment, estimates that the top money-makers for crime groups in East Asia and the Pacific are: the illicit trade in counterfeit goods (USD 24.4 billion), illegal wood products (USD 17 billion), heroin (USD 16.3 billion), methamphetamines (USD 15 billion), fake meds (USD 5 billion) and illegal e-waste (USD 3.75 billion).

The report is the first comprehensive study of transnational organised crime threats in East Asia and the Pacific. It details the criminal flows involved and provides estimates of annual revenues generated for criminal groups by activities related to human trafficking and migrant smuggling, illicit drugs (heroin and methamphetamine), environmental crime (wildlife, wood products, e-waste and ozone-depleting substances), and counterfeit consumer goods and fake medicines.

"This report outlines the mechanics of illicit trade: The how, where, when, who and why of selected contraband markets affecting this region," said Sandeep Chawla, UNODC Deputy Executive Director, at the report's launch today in Sydney.

"It looks at how criminal enterprises have developed alongside legitimate commerce and taken advantage of distribution and logistics chains. It offers estimates of values to prompt public debate and makes recommendations to address these problems," said Chawla.

Many of the organised criminal activities outlined in the Report can have serious global health implications.

"Between one-third to 90 per cent of anti-malarial drugs tested in Southeast Asia are fraudulent: They do not contain what they say they do. Sub-standard drugs have two serious public health consequences: One: people get sicker or die; Two: drug-resistant strains can develop - as we now see with anti-malarials - and cause a global health threat," said Jeremy Douglas, UNODC Regional Representative, Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

"These transnational criminal activities are a global concern now. Illicit profits from crimes in East Asia and the Pacific can destabilise societies around the globe. Dollars from illicit activities in East Asia can buy property and companies and corrupt anywhere. We need to talk about this, and organise a coordinated response now. It takes a network to defeat a network," Douglas added.


-- The Nation 2013-04-16

Excellent article...

Makes me want to setup an illegal business

You mean those Gucci sunglasses I bought for 200 baht at the weekend market are not Real?

I would love to see how they work out these numbers. It seems crime DOES pay...

I would love to see how they work out these numbers. It seems crime DOES pay...

And I wonder how much of that money ends up in the pockets of the police and government officials??? I'd bet a lot.

Crimes against nature and Asian people too. Takes the future from all the kids too.