Pros And Cons Of Transnational Organized Crime
Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) in recent years has become an overwhelming threat to national and international security. The health and safety of the public as well as the stability of the economic structure have grown to be a target for these criminal organizations. They have expanded their networks and diversified their behavior, resulting in what was once small and simple to much larger and complicated attacks causing massive effects.
Corruption and Penetration of State Institutions
Countries like Afghanistan, Somalia, Columbia and Russia because of weak rule of law have been extremely susceptible to TOC. Once the TOC has penetrated and has a strong strangle on the local populace and the government criminal organizations can become more powerful than the state …show more content…
institution themselves. The TOC will insert themselves into political power largely through direct bribery. Political power over a country can help them setup shadow economies, infiltrate security sectors, and can further position themselves to taking over security or other communal services. As they expand, the TOC build their network to destabilize free markets through alliances of political leaders, law enforcement, and financial institutions. Using the country of Somalia as an example of how the TOC can infiltrate a territory and create the instability through illicit revenue from piracy and control over the locals.
Threats to the U.S. Economy and Strategic Markets
Damage to the world financial system caused by the TOC has woken up the U.S. to a threat that directly affects our everyday life. Mistreatment and Distortion of valid markets by the TOC have U.S. businesses worried that firms are not eligible to be in a competitive market due to the corruption of emerging markets by the TOC. Distortion of the economic dollar and damage to the legitimate businesses by corrupt officials has dampened the market. The World Bank has estimated that approximately $1 trillion dollars was spent in 2012 to bribe public officials. In part because of the influences that the TOC has on certain countries the price of doing business with them has risen drastically. For instance, shipping costs have increased in international waters in surrounding countries like Somalia because businesses have to account for the cost of security from piracy. Such activities lead to the costs of goods to rise, which in turn diminishes economic competitiveness. The U.S. industry sectors cannot keep up with the inflation and has caused many to fail. Further, as TOC gains hold on political power and leverages relationships with such, they can gain influence over key commodities; gasoline, oil, metals, etc. Such power could cripple the market value as seen in 2008 when fuel prices rose to heights way above the standard.
Terror-Insurgency Nexus
As of recently the TOC entities have become increasingly popular with terrorist organizations. They can use TOC to generate their funding required to commit their heinous acts. According to the Department of Justice 29 of 63 organizations on the Consolidated Priority Organization Target list, a list created to track the groups threatening the United States, were associated or affiliated with terrorist groups. Among the top of the list include the drug trade by the Taliban and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC). Their ability to gain large quantities of funding is a critical stand point for terrorists. Concerns of the al-Qa’ida and Hizballah drug trade have made a mark in the terrorist field as well. Further, the al-Shabaab has been linked to generating funding from the protection of pirates and kidnapping. While most of the organizations are opportunistic some have been seen as very dangerous, especially if the human smuggling networks are used to get terrorists into the United States or worse a Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD).
Various Forms of Transnational Organized Crime
Drug Trafficking
In recent years the U.S. has made large breakthroughs in the drug enforcement world, especially in the cocaine field but still has a ways to go. As drug trafficking continues to be the most lucrative enterprise for criminals, the health and well-being for the American public has become increasingly pertinent. In 2009, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has estimated the annual value of drug trafficking to a $320 billion industry, cocaine being worth approximately $85 billion and opiates $68 billion respectively. The drive for such a large value is the demand for illicit drugs both in the United States and abroad. Due to such a competitive field the drug traffickers have become increasingly violent as a means to control territories. The Mexican Drug Trafficking Organization’s (DTO) have control over most of the Western Hemisphere largely in due to threats of violence to others. The Latin cartels have taken control of West Africa and are exploiting the local criminal organizations to move their products into Europe and the Middle East. Research has also shown Afghanistan DTOs have been in coordination with the Latin cartels to smuggle heroin into the United States and Europe. Further, most of the organized criminals are now becoming more involved in the drug trade, allowing drug producers to utilize distribution networks to expand taking a cut off the top. As the United Nations has seen drug trafficking countries with large ties have had a increase in street crime as well.
Human Smuggling Every year millions of migrants are smuggled illegally around the globe through criminal networks. The migrants are willing participants who pay a price for safe arrival to another country either through fake or forged documents or by transportation of migrants through evasion of controlled border checkpoints. In many cases the smugglers do not care for the safety of the travelers and for some it is a treacherous journey. Smugglers may detain the migrants and ransom them back to their families or strip them of their rights and beat, rob or worse kill them in the process. Every year this trade is valued in the billions. In 2010 the UNODC submitted a report: The Globalization of Crime: Transnational Threat Assessment. The report estimated that criminal organizations earned approximately $6.6 billion in the illicit human smuggling of 3 million migrants from Latin America to North America. The report also estimated 55,000 migrants were smuggled from Africa into Europe valued at approximately $150 million.
Illicit Arms Trafficking
The international black market used by illicit arms dealers plays a large role in the procurement of handguns and assault rifles used by terrorists, drug traffickers and even low level street gangs. The illicit market valued at approximately $1.58 billion in 2006 is estimated to be 10%-20% of the licit market. The easy access for criminal organizations to obtain such weaponry put many small state institutions at a disadvantage against TOC. The small arms trade is only part of the illicit trading market as research has shown that possible WMDs have been traded using these means, however no proof has yet to arise.
Trafficking in Persons
Human Trafficking is a world-wide crime where men, women and children are used as everyday products to perform sexual or labor intensive services. They are held against their will and exploited as objects used for slavery, involuntary servitude and forced labor. Victims are often emotionally and physically abused or held for fear of threats to family members. In 2005 the International Labour Organization (ILO) reported that at any given time 2.4 million victims of trafficking were being held with annual profits exceeding $32 billion, although recent research shows the numbers could be substantially higher. In Europe, women and children alone involve 140,000 people and bring in an estimated $3 billion annually.
Trafficking in Natural Resources
Smuggling of raw materials has become increasingly popular to criminal organizations. Materials such as diamonds and rare metals from war torn areas has become an easy target for many TOCs to profit. In South-East Asia alone $3.5 billion is generated annually from the illicit timber sales. Not only are the timber sales funding the criminal organizations but deforestation has caused climate change and poverty among the rural communities surrounding the areas.
Illegal Trade in Wildlife
Poaching targets for skin or body parts has become a lucrative export for TOCs to profit from. From Africa and South-East Asia the elephant ivory, rhino horns and tiger pelts produces $75 million annually in illicit trade. This has caused certain species to come close to extinction. As well as animal parts the illegal trade deals with the trade in live and rare plants and animals. The demand from collectors has increased the profit margins. The World Wildlife Fund has estimated that 440,000 tons of medicinal plants, 100 million fish, and 1.5 million birds are traded world-wide illegally per year.
Sale of Fraudulent Medicine
One of the more worrying trades in recent years is the sale of counterfeit pharmaceuticals. The legitimate trade has become a large enterprise especially from Asia to developing countries. TOC has been piggybacking on the trade to a total value of $1.6 billion particularly in areas from South East Asia and Africa. The problem persists to be instead of curing or healing people the drugs have been leading to deaths and causing resistance issues to actual life-saving drugs. As well as the hand to hand trade the online trade of drugs has become large enough to imply large health problems for many people.
Cybercrime
With the vast expansion of the internet and technology, the transnational organized criminals have taken to unseen, unheard crime commonly known as cybercrime. One of the largest and most profitable ways is through identity theft. Though identity theft, criminals can access a person’s private data, bank accounts and credit cards through the internet. According to the U.S. Secret Service’s 31 Electronic Crime Task Forces, Americans are defrauded out of nearly $1 billion a year. Cybercrime has also became a red flag threatening large financial and trust systems. Banks, Stock markets, e-currency and credit card services have all became targets of TOC. To combat this, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has a task force known as the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force. They function as a domestic focal point to coordinate 18 federal departments to pursue terrorists and spies who look to exploit U.S. systems. The major issue with cybercrime is the easy access for criminals through cell phones, personal computers and the internet.
Intellectual Property Theft
TOC has gained a grasp on the market of stealing and replicating U.S. property through intrusions into corporate and proprietary computer networks. Theft includes a wide range of items to include movies, movies, video games, and imitation of popular trusted brands and high-tech devices. With the theft or reproduction of fraudulent materials, companies in the U.S. are having a hard time remain competitive in the world market and significant business can be lost. U.S reported between FY 2003 and FY 2010, the yearly value of custom seizures related to intellectual property rights valued at an estimated $94-$188 million. Of the seizures products, those originating from China estimated for approximately 66% in FY 2010.
Money Laundering
Most illegitimate funds procured from TOC syndicates cannot be spent freely. Therefore it must be laundered to seem as legitimate funds. This is most commonly obtained by money being transferred to banks in countries where secrecy is allowed and then distributed to countless accounts in many countries. The vast distribution through so many networks is nearly impossible to track and trace back to the crime that is was gained from. When it finally meets its destination the criminals can access their untaxed money free and clear of any staining from the means of gain. One estimate, estimates the yearly amount of money being laundered to approximately $1 trillion worldwide.
Infiltration of Legal Business Though most TOC occur using “dirty” money or money made from crimes, now with the ability to launder that money criminals can now participate in legal businesses. Transnational organized criminals can now spend that money on purchasing businesses of their own or investing in the free-market. This can fluctuate the value of the market and could cause unknown results with cash flows unaccounted for. Some businesses purchased this way become “fronts” for more illegitimate crime such as smuggling people, supplies or drugs through ports used by companies owned by the organization.
Regions
Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) manifests itself in various different forms in different parts of the world. Ahead we will describe the specific regional priorities around the world.
Western Hemisphere
TOC in the area has risen lately in the region including transnational gangs so much that security especially to the United States has been threatened.
Central America is the key region where trafficking in arms, people and drugs are fueling the instability to the brink of destruction. In some Central America states, according to the World Bank, it is costing approximately 8% of their domestic products. Mexico in particular is waging an ongoing war so massive it’s costing the country more money than they can afford. With combating not only the large drug trade but the human smuggling rings, extortion bids and kidnappers, Mexico is in a losing battle. The TOC is so bad that the United States border is vulnerable to border-crossers bringing drugs and people across on such a huge scale that the U.S. does not have enough manpower to cover it all. On the plus side Colombia has made remarkable success in the reduction of the cocaine and arm production against the FARC. Colombia, according to the U.N., is now an exporter of law enforcement and justice. The country now provides assistance to other law enforcement agencies on how to deal with the TOC. This success comes largely due to the help from the
U.S.
Afghanistan/ Southwest Asia
Nowhere in the world is TOC more prominent than in Afghanistan and Southwest Asia. Terrorist insurgents and other drug-funded groups in the area threaten the efforts of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the United States to construct peaceful, democratic nations. According to Afghan officials most of the insurgent groups are either directly involved with trafficking or are connected to other DTOs around the world in order to fund their criminal goals. They also have been estimated by U.S. Department of Defense officials to utilize their DTO connections to help smuggle themselves into various different countries unseen.
Russia/ Eurasia
A significant threat has been established in the Russia/ Eurasia region in recent years. Russian organized crime syndicates have been utilizing their state powers to gain power in strategic markets such as gas, oil, aluminum, and other precious metals causing inflation and undermining competition. As well as the market hold in the area, TOC networks have also began establishing ties to large narcotic trafficking organizations.
The Balkans
As a smugglers dream, the Balkans have become the ideal environment for TOC to thrive. Troubles in countries like Kosovo, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina have helped TOC groups to seize control over drug and human trade routes. In recent years the area has become a new entry point for cocaine coming from Latin America and has become a transit region for heroin ingredients to Afghanistan. Due to so many conflicts in the area being settled, weapons that were once used are now being sold on the black market for profits. The lack of border controls in the area has grown a concern for areas like Western Europe because of the ease for TOC networks and terrorists to freely move about without much resistance.
West Africa This area has become one of the major transient areas for drugs deemed for Europe and for heroin destined to the United States. At the same time it has become a significant source of methamphetamine to the Far East. With all the transit lines running narcotics, TOC networks have also been using the area to backflow their funds through it. Guinea-Bissau suffers from such a weak institution that TOC organizations have a hold over the state. Their capabilities to combat the problem are so severe that the state can no longer afford nor has the resources to continue the fight. In the Gulf of guinea, piracy has grown drastically from stealing oil from pipeline and kidnapping oil workers to feed money to drug war lords.
Asia/ Pacific
With the region being such a large player in the economy, TOC networks are having serious implications worldwide. The importance heightens with the threat of stolen intellectual property rights and production of counterfeit items originating from the region. Another big threat is the human trafficking and smuggling moving hundreds if not thousands of people at a time. Research has also shown chemical and narcotics trades have been made to countries not qualified to handle such. North Korea is one of the countries having ties linked to TOC networks, moving chemicals known as being ingredients to WMD.
Transnational organized crime does not have one definition but is virtually all profit-motivated criminal activities where more than one country is involved at a time. Such crime has caused threats to peace and human security, which leads to human’s rights violations and undermines economic, political, civil and cultural development worldwide. Countless lives are affected every year due to TOC. Drug-related health problem, firearm deaths, and human trafficking and smuggling deaths and injuries are major players in the affect of TOC. Vast sums of money affect even more with the huge impact it causes our culture and economies and have direct impacts on governances. .
Corruption and Penetration of State Institutions
Countries like Afghanistan, Somalia, Columbia and Russia because of weak rule of law have been extremely susceptible to TOC. Once the TOC has penetrated and has a strong strangle on the local populace and the government criminal organizations can become more powerful than the state …show more content…
institution themselves. The TOC will insert themselves into political power largely through direct bribery. Political power over a country can help them setup shadow economies, infiltrate security sectors, and can further position themselves to taking over security or other communal services. As they expand, the TOC build their network to destabilize free markets through alliances of political leaders, law enforcement, and financial institutions. Using the country of Somalia as an example of how the TOC can infiltrate a territory and create the instability through illicit revenue from piracy and control over the locals.
Threats to the U.S. Economy and Strategic Markets
Damage to the world financial system caused by the TOC has woken up the U.S. to a threat that directly affects our everyday life. Mistreatment and Distortion of valid markets by the TOC have U.S. businesses worried that firms are not eligible to be in a competitive market due to the corruption of emerging markets by the TOC. Distortion of the economic dollar and damage to the legitimate businesses by corrupt officials has dampened the market. The World Bank has estimated that approximately $1 trillion dollars was spent in 2012 to bribe public officials. In part because of the influences that the TOC has on certain countries the price of doing business with them has risen drastically. For instance, shipping costs have increased in international waters in surrounding countries like Somalia because businesses have to account for the cost of security from piracy. Such activities lead to the costs of goods to rise, which in turn diminishes economic competitiveness. The U.S. industry sectors cannot keep up with the inflation and has caused many to fail. Further, as TOC gains hold on political power and leverages relationships with such, they can gain influence over key commodities; gasoline, oil, metals, etc. Such power could cripple the market value as seen in 2008 when fuel prices rose to heights way above the standard.
Terror-Insurgency Nexus
As of recently the TOC entities have become increasingly popular with terrorist organizations. They can use TOC to generate their funding required to commit their heinous acts. According to the Department of Justice 29 of 63 organizations on the Consolidated Priority Organization Target list, a list created to track the groups threatening the United States, were associated or affiliated with terrorist groups. Among the top of the list include the drug trade by the Taliban and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC). Their ability to gain large quantities of funding is a critical stand point for terrorists. Concerns of the al-Qa’ida and Hizballah drug trade have made a mark in the terrorist field as well. Further, the al-Shabaab has been linked to generating funding from the protection of pirates and kidnapping. While most of the organizations are opportunistic some have been seen as very dangerous, especially if the human smuggling networks are used to get terrorists into the United States or worse a Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD).
Various Forms of Transnational Organized Crime
Drug Trafficking
In recent years the U.S. has made large breakthroughs in the drug enforcement world, especially in the cocaine field but still has a ways to go. As drug trafficking continues to be the most lucrative enterprise for criminals, the health and well-being for the American public has become increasingly pertinent. In 2009, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has estimated the annual value of drug trafficking to a $320 billion industry, cocaine being worth approximately $85 billion and opiates $68 billion respectively. The drive for such a large value is the demand for illicit drugs both in the United States and abroad. Due to such a competitive field the drug traffickers have become increasingly violent as a means to control territories. The Mexican Drug Trafficking Organization’s (DTO) have control over most of the Western Hemisphere largely in due to threats of violence to others. The Latin cartels have taken control of West Africa and are exploiting the local criminal organizations to move their products into Europe and the Middle East. Research has also shown Afghanistan DTOs have been in coordination with the Latin cartels to smuggle heroin into the United States and Europe. Further, most of the organized criminals are now becoming more involved in the drug trade, allowing drug producers to utilize distribution networks to expand taking a cut off the top. As the United Nations has seen drug trafficking countries with large ties have had a increase in street crime as well.
Human Smuggling Every year millions of migrants are smuggled illegally around the globe through criminal networks. The migrants are willing participants who pay a price for safe arrival to another country either through fake or forged documents or by transportation of migrants through evasion of controlled border checkpoints. In many cases the smugglers do not care for the safety of the travelers and for some it is a treacherous journey. Smugglers may detain the migrants and ransom them back to their families or strip them of their rights and beat, rob or worse kill them in the process. Every year this trade is valued in the billions. In 2010 the UNODC submitted a report: The Globalization of Crime: Transnational Threat Assessment. The report estimated that criminal organizations earned approximately $6.6 billion in the illicit human smuggling of 3 million migrants from Latin America to North America. The report also estimated 55,000 migrants were smuggled from Africa into Europe valued at approximately $150 million.
Illicit Arms Trafficking
The international black market used by illicit arms dealers plays a large role in the procurement of handguns and assault rifles used by terrorists, drug traffickers and even low level street gangs. The illicit market valued at approximately $1.58 billion in 2006 is estimated to be 10%-20% of the licit market. The easy access for criminal organizations to obtain such weaponry put many small state institutions at a disadvantage against TOC. The small arms trade is only part of the illicit trading market as research has shown that possible WMDs have been traded using these means, however no proof has yet to arise.
Trafficking in Persons
Human Trafficking is a world-wide crime where men, women and children are used as everyday products to perform sexual or labor intensive services. They are held against their will and exploited as objects used for slavery, involuntary servitude and forced labor. Victims are often emotionally and physically abused or held for fear of threats to family members. In 2005 the International Labour Organization (ILO) reported that at any given time 2.4 million victims of trafficking were being held with annual profits exceeding $32 billion, although recent research shows the numbers could be substantially higher. In Europe, women and children alone involve 140,000 people and bring in an estimated $3 billion annually.
Trafficking in Natural Resources
Smuggling of raw materials has become increasingly popular to criminal organizations. Materials such as diamonds and rare metals from war torn areas has become an easy target for many TOCs to profit. In South-East Asia alone $3.5 billion is generated annually from the illicit timber sales. Not only are the timber sales funding the criminal organizations but deforestation has caused climate change and poverty among the rural communities surrounding the areas.
Illegal Trade in Wildlife
Poaching targets for skin or body parts has become a lucrative export for TOCs to profit from. From Africa and South-East Asia the elephant ivory, rhino horns and tiger pelts produces $75 million annually in illicit trade. This has caused certain species to come close to extinction. As well as animal parts the illegal trade deals with the trade in live and rare plants and animals. The demand from collectors has increased the profit margins. The World Wildlife Fund has estimated that 440,000 tons of medicinal plants, 100 million fish, and 1.5 million birds are traded world-wide illegally per year.
Sale of Fraudulent Medicine
One of the more worrying trades in recent years is the sale of counterfeit pharmaceuticals. The legitimate trade has become a large enterprise especially from Asia to developing countries. TOC has been piggybacking on the trade to a total value of $1.6 billion particularly in areas from South East Asia and Africa. The problem persists to be instead of curing or healing people the drugs have been leading to deaths and causing resistance issues to actual life-saving drugs. As well as the hand to hand trade the online trade of drugs has become large enough to imply large health problems for many people.
Cybercrime
With the vast expansion of the internet and technology, the transnational organized criminals have taken to unseen, unheard crime commonly known as cybercrime. One of the largest and most profitable ways is through identity theft. Though identity theft, criminals can access a person’s private data, bank accounts and credit cards through the internet. According to the U.S. Secret Service’s 31 Electronic Crime Task Forces, Americans are defrauded out of nearly $1 billion a year. Cybercrime has also became a red flag threatening large financial and trust systems. Banks, Stock markets, e-currency and credit card services have all became targets of TOC. To combat this, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has a task force known as the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force. They function as a domestic focal point to coordinate 18 federal departments to pursue terrorists and spies who look to exploit U.S. systems. The major issue with cybercrime is the easy access for criminals through cell phones, personal computers and the internet.
Intellectual Property Theft
TOC has gained a grasp on the market of stealing and replicating U.S. property through intrusions into corporate and proprietary computer networks. Theft includes a wide range of items to include movies, movies, video games, and imitation of popular trusted brands and high-tech devices. With the theft or reproduction of fraudulent materials, companies in the U.S. are having a hard time remain competitive in the world market and significant business can be lost. U.S reported between FY 2003 and FY 2010, the yearly value of custom seizures related to intellectual property rights valued at an estimated $94-$188 million. Of the seizures products, those originating from China estimated for approximately 66% in FY 2010.
Money Laundering
Most illegitimate funds procured from TOC syndicates cannot be spent freely. Therefore it must be laundered to seem as legitimate funds. This is most commonly obtained by money being transferred to banks in countries where secrecy is allowed and then distributed to countless accounts in many countries. The vast distribution through so many networks is nearly impossible to track and trace back to the crime that is was gained from. When it finally meets its destination the criminals can access their untaxed money free and clear of any staining from the means of gain. One estimate, estimates the yearly amount of money being laundered to approximately $1 trillion worldwide.
Infiltration of Legal Business Though most TOC occur using “dirty” money or money made from crimes, now with the ability to launder that money criminals can now participate in legal businesses. Transnational organized criminals can now spend that money on purchasing businesses of their own or investing in the free-market. This can fluctuate the value of the market and could cause unknown results with cash flows unaccounted for. Some businesses purchased this way become “fronts” for more illegitimate crime such as smuggling people, supplies or drugs through ports used by companies owned by the organization.
Regions
Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) manifests itself in various different forms in different parts of the world. Ahead we will describe the specific regional priorities around the world.
Western Hemisphere
TOC in the area has risen lately in the region including transnational gangs so much that security especially to the United States has been threatened.
Central America is the key region where trafficking in arms, people and drugs are fueling the instability to the brink of destruction. In some Central America states, according to the World Bank, it is costing approximately 8% of their domestic products. Mexico in particular is waging an ongoing war so massive it’s costing the country more money than they can afford. With combating not only the large drug trade but the human smuggling rings, extortion bids and kidnappers, Mexico is in a losing battle. The TOC is so bad that the United States border is vulnerable to border-crossers bringing drugs and people across on such a huge scale that the U.S. does not have enough manpower to cover it all. On the plus side Colombia has made remarkable success in the reduction of the cocaine and arm production against the FARC. Colombia, according to the U.N., is now an exporter of law enforcement and justice. The country now provides assistance to other law enforcement agencies on how to deal with the TOC. This success comes largely due to the help from the
U.S.
Afghanistan/ Southwest Asia
Nowhere in the world is TOC more prominent than in Afghanistan and Southwest Asia. Terrorist insurgents and other drug-funded groups in the area threaten the efforts of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the United States to construct peaceful, democratic nations. According to Afghan officials most of the insurgent groups are either directly involved with trafficking or are connected to other DTOs around the world in order to fund their criminal goals. They also have been estimated by U.S. Department of Defense officials to utilize their DTO connections to help smuggle themselves into various different countries unseen.
Russia/ Eurasia
A significant threat has been established in the Russia/ Eurasia region in recent years. Russian organized crime syndicates have been utilizing their state powers to gain power in strategic markets such as gas, oil, aluminum, and other precious metals causing inflation and undermining competition. As well as the market hold in the area, TOC networks have also began establishing ties to large narcotic trafficking organizations.
The Balkans
As a smugglers dream, the Balkans have become the ideal environment for TOC to thrive. Troubles in countries like Kosovo, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina have helped TOC groups to seize control over drug and human trade routes. In recent years the area has become a new entry point for cocaine coming from Latin America and has become a transit region for heroin ingredients to Afghanistan. Due to so many conflicts in the area being settled, weapons that were once used are now being sold on the black market for profits. The lack of border controls in the area has grown a concern for areas like Western Europe because of the ease for TOC networks and terrorists to freely move about without much resistance.
West Africa This area has become one of the major transient areas for drugs deemed for Europe and for heroin destined to the United States. At the same time it has become a significant source of methamphetamine to the Far East. With all the transit lines running narcotics, TOC networks have also been using the area to backflow their funds through it. Guinea-Bissau suffers from such a weak institution that TOC organizations have a hold over the state. Their capabilities to combat the problem are so severe that the state can no longer afford nor has the resources to continue the fight. In the Gulf of guinea, piracy has grown drastically from stealing oil from pipeline and kidnapping oil workers to feed money to drug war lords.
Asia/ Pacific
With the region being such a large player in the economy, TOC networks are having serious implications worldwide. The importance heightens with the threat of stolen intellectual property rights and production of counterfeit items originating from the region. Another big threat is the human trafficking and smuggling moving hundreds if not thousands of people at a time. Research has also shown chemical and narcotics trades have been made to countries not qualified to handle such. North Korea is one of the countries having ties linked to TOC networks, moving chemicals known as being ingredients to WMD.
Transnational organized crime does not have one definition but is virtually all profit-motivated criminal activities where more than one country is involved at a time. Such crime has caused threats to peace and human security, which leads to human’s rights violations and undermines economic, political, civil and cultural development worldwide. Countless lives are affected every year due to TOC. Drug-related health problem, firearm deaths, and human trafficking and smuggling deaths and injuries are major players in the affect of TOC. Vast sums of money affect even more with the huge impact it causes our culture and economies and have direct impacts on governances. .