NARCO-TERRORISM – AN INTRODUCTION
E.DILIPRAJ
WHAT IS NARCO-TERRORISM?
Narco-terrorism is a term coined by the former President Fernando Belaúnde Terry of Peru in 1983 when describing terrorist-type attacks against his nation's anti-narcotics police. Narco-terrorism is one of the major financial support for other forms of terrorism. It may even be called as the financial wing of international terrorism.
In the original context,
“Narco-terrorism is understood to mean the attempts of narcotics traffickers to influence the policies of a government or a society through violence and intimidation and to hinder the enforcement of the law and the administration of justice by the systematic threat or use of such violence.”
How it all started?
The trade of drugs has existed for as long as the drugs themselves have existed. However, the trade of drugs was fully legal until the introduction of drug prohibition. The history of the illegal drug trade is thus closely tied to the history of drug prohibition.
In the First Opium War (1839-1842), the United Kingdom forced China to allow British merchants to trade in opium with the general population of China. Although illegal by imperial decree, smoking opium had become common in the 1800s due to increasing importation via British merchants. Trading in opium was (as it is today in the heroin trade) extremely lucrative. As a result of the trade an estimated two million Chinese people became addicted to the drug. The British Crown (via the treaties of Nanking and Tianjin) took vast sums of money from the Chinese government in what they referred to as 'reparations' for the wars. Though this war was only fought by the Qing dynasty alone against the British, but not the entire present china, even then it may be considered as the first protest against the drug trade.
As the centuries passed on the mafias of various countries were well organized and very well involved in the drug trade although got meager opposition from the government side. But once the problem grew and the governments started to recognize that the uncontrolled drug trade is not good for the country in any case, it was too late because already all the mafias have gained a strong foothold in this trade. And when the governments passed the anti narcotic trade law the concept of narco-terrorism arouse, and Peru’s former President Fernando Belaúnde Terry coined the term NARCO TERRORISM for the first time in the history of the world only at this time.
Few types of illegal drugs:
· AMPHETAMINE
A type of drug which increases energy but decreases you appetite.
Treats narcolepsy and some forms of depression.
· HEROIN
A highly addictive drug.
White, odorless, bitter crystalline compound that is derived from morphine.
· ECSTASY
Each tablet has a different effect.
Usually Ecstasy is taken orally but, it can be snorted or injected.
· TOBACCO
Tobacco is dried leaves from the Tobacco plant.
Normally it will be used in the cigarette form.
It can also be used in cigars, pipes, chewed or sniffed.
(30% of our world population smoke or use some sort of drug at the early of 16 )
· COCAINE
White powder which can be smoked, sniffed, eaten, or injected. The person who is using Cocaine feels a powerful urge that makes them feel
over confident or even invincible.
· MARIJUANA
Second most popular drug with the youth.
Made up of seeds, flowers, stems and leaves made from the Cannabis plant.
· MAGIC MUSHROOMS
The magic mushrooms come in many different forms.
It is made out to psilocin and psilocybin. You take this drug by eating it. The amount you take will vary on the effect.
· LYSERGIC ACID DIETHYL AMIDE LSD is one of the biggest mood changing drugs. It is found from a fungus that is grown on rye and other grains.
Producers and End Users:
According to a report given by the White house on illicit drug producing countries in 2004, the major countries are : Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Burma, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela, and Vietnam.
Thailand which was also one of the major drug producing states was removed from the list because it is found that Thailand is no longer a direct source for illicit drug trade and the drug production has reduced considerably when compared to the past.
More recently there was one more report of the major drug producing and drug trafficking countries and the list goes like this : countries identified as major drug-transit or drug-producing countries include Afghanistan, Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Burma, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela. We can find that China and Vietnam have disappeared from the list due to various reasons.
When we see the part of the end users the list goes on along with the number of countries there in the world. The drug trade is very much present all over the world no matter whatever the law is against it in all the countries.
Among the list the toping end user of the drug is surprisingly United States of America followed by New Zealand and then by the various European countries and the list goes on. It can be said that the illegal drug trade is never affected by any level of the counter narcotics operations taken by any country. It can be only eclipsed for some time but again it starts to lift up its head with a new vigor.
Status of Important Countries in Drug Trade:
Afghanistan : world's largest producer of opium; poppy cultivation decreased 22% to 157,000 hectares in 2008 but remains at a historically high level; less favorable growing conditions in 2008 reduced potential opium production to 5,500 metric tons, down 31 percent from 2007; if the entire opium crop were processed, 648 metric tons of pure heroin potentially could be produced; the Taliban and other antigovernment groups participate in and profit from the opiate trade, which is a key source of revenue for the Taliban inside Afghanistan; widespread corruption and instability impede counterdrug efforts; most of the heroin consumed in Europe and Eurasia is derived from Afghan opium; vulnerable to drug money laundering through informal financial networks; regional source of hashish (2008).
Brazil : Second-largest consumer of cocaine in the world; illicit producer of cannabis; trace amounts of coca cultivation in the Amazon region, used for domestic consumption; government has a large-scale eradication program to control cannabis; important transshipment country for Bolivian, Colombian, and Peruvian cocaine headed for Europe; also used by traffickers as a way station for narcotics air trans-shipments between Peru and Colombia; upsurge in drug-related violence and weapons smuggling; important market for Colombian, Bolivian, and Peruvian cocaine; illicit narcotics proceeds are often laundered through the financial system; significant illicit financial activity in the Tri-Border Area (2008) .
Myanmar: Remains world's second largest producer of illicit opium with an estimated production in 2008 of 340 metric tons, an increase of 26%, and poppy cultivation in 2008 totaled 22,500 hectares, a 4% increase from 2007; production in the United Wa State Army's areas of greatest control remains low; Shan state is the source of 94% of Burma's poppy cultivation; lack of government will to take on major narco-trafficking groups and lack of serious commitment against money laundering continues to hinder the overall antidrug effort; major source of methamphetamine and heroin for regional consumption (2008).
China : Major trans-shipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle region of Southeast Asia; growing domestic consumption of synthetic drugs, and heroin from Southeast and Southwest Asia; source country for methamphetamine and heroin chemical precursors, despite new regulations on its large chemical industry (2008).
Hong Kong: Despite strenuous law enforcement efforts, faces difficult challenges in controlling transit of heroin and methamphetamine to regional and world markets; modern banking system provides conduit for money laundering; rising indigenous use of synthetic drugs, especially among young people.
Colombia: Illicit producer of coca, opium poppy, and cannabis; world's leading coca cultivator with 167,000 hectares in coca cultivation in 2007, a 6% increase over 2006, producing a potential of 535 mt of pure cocaine; the world's largest producer of coca derivatives; supplies cocaine to nearly all of the US market and the great majority of other international drug markets; in 2005, aerial eradication dispensed herbicide to treat over 130,000 hectares but aggressive replanting on the part of coca growers means Colombia remains a key producer; a significant portion of narcotics proceeds are either laundered or invested in Colombia through the black market peso exchange; important supplier of heroin to the US market; opium poppy cultivation is estimated to have fallen 25% between 2006 and 2007; most Colombian heroin is destined for the US market (2008).
Democratic Republic of Congo: one of Africa's biggest producers of cannabis, but mostly for domestic consumption; traffickers exploit lax shipping controls to transit pseudoephedrine through the capital; while rampant corruption and inadequate supervision leaves the banking system vulnerable to money laundering, the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center (2008).
Cuba: Territorial waters and air space serve as transshipment zone for US- and European-bound drugs; established the death penalty for certain drug-related crimes in 1999 (2008).
Ecuador : significant transit country for cocaine originating in Colombia and Peru, with much of the US-bound cocaine passing through Ecuadorian Pacific waters; importer of precursor chemicals used in production of illicit narcotics; attractive location for cash-placement by drug traffickers laundering money because of dollarization and weak anti-money-laundering regime; increased activity on the northern frontier by trafficking groups and Colombian insurgents (2008)
France: Metropolitan France: transshipment point for South American cocaine, Southwest Asian heroin, and European synthetics
French Guiana: small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe
Martinique: transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe.
Guatemala : Major transit country for cocaine and heroin; in 2005, cultivated 100 hectares of opium poppy after reemerging as a potential source of opium in 2004; potential production of less than 1 metric ton of pure heroin; marijuana cultivation for mostly domestic consumption; proximity to Mexico makes Guatemala a major staging area for drugs (particularly for cocaine); money laundering is a serious problem; corruption is a major problem.
Haiti: Caribbean transshipment point for cocaine en route to the US and Europe; substantial bulk cash smuggling activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Haiti for illicit financial transactions; pervasive corruption; significant consumer of cannabis
India : World's largest producer of licit opium for the pharmaceutical trade, but an undetermined quantity of opium is diverted to illicit international drug markets; transit point for illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries and throughout Southwest Asia; illicit producer of methaqualone; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering through the hawala system; licit ketamine and precursor production.
Jamaica: Transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation and consumption of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions.
Laos : Estimated opium poppy cultivation in 2008 was 1,900 hectares, about a 73% increase from 2007; estimated potential opium production in 2008 more than tripled to 17 metric tons; unsubstantiated reports of domestic methamphetamine production; growing domestic methamphetamine problem (2007).
Pakistan : Significant transit area for Afghan drugs, including heroin, opium, morphine, and hashish, bound for Iran, Western markets, the Gulf States, Africa, and Asia; financial crimes related to drug trafficking, terrorism, corruption, and smuggling remain problems; opium poppy cultivation estimated to be 2,300 hectares in 2007 with 600 of those hectares eradicated; federal and provincial authorities continue to conduct anti-poppy campaigns that utilizes forced eradication, fines, and arrests.
Panama: Major cocaine transshipment point and primary money-laundering center for narcotics revenue; money-laundering activity is especially heavy in the Colon Free Zone; offshore financial center; negligible signs of coca cultivation; monitoring of financial transactions is improving; official corruption remains a major problem.
Russia: Limited cultivation of illicit cannabis and opium poppy and producer of methamphetamine, mostly for domestic consumption; government has active illicit crop eradication program; used as transshipment point for Asian opiates, cannabis, and Latin American cocaine bound for growing domestic markets, to a lesser extent Western and Central Europe, and occasionally to the US; major source of heroin precursor chemicals; corruption and organized crime are key concerns; major consumer of opiates.
Tasmania: Tasmania is one of the world's major suppliers of illicit opiate products; government maintains strict controls over areas of opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate; major consumer of cocaine and amphetamines
Thailand : A minor producer of opium, heroin, and marijuana; transit point for illicit heroin en route to the international drug market from Burma and Laos; eradication efforts have reduced the area of cannabis cultivation and shifted some production to neighboring countries; opium poppy cultivation has been reduced by eradication efforts; also a drug money-laundering center; minor role in methamphetamine production for regional consumption; major consumer of methamphetamine since the 1990s despite a series of government crackdowns.
United Kingdom: Producer of limited amounts of synthetic drugs and synthetic precursor chemicals; major consumer of Southwest Asian heroin, Latin American cocaine, and synthetic drugs; money-laundering center.
United States: world's largest consumer of cocaine (shipped from Colombia through Mexico and the Caribbean), Colombian heroin, and Mexican heroin and marijuana; major consumer of ecstasy and Mexican methamphetamine; minor consumer of high-quality Southeast Asian heroin; illicit producer of cannabis, marijuana, depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and methamphetamine; money-laundering center.
Venezuela : small-scale illicit producer of opium and coca for the processing of opiates and coca derivatives; however, large quantities of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana transit the country from Colombia bound for US and Europe; significant narcotics-related money-laundering activity, especially along the border with Colombia and on Margarita Island; active eradication program primarily targeting opium; increasing signs of drug-related activities by Colombian insurgents on border.
Notable Drug Lords:
Pablo Escobar:
Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was the most notorious and violent drug lord of the Medellín Cartel. Escobar was killed by the Search Bloc, a group of Colombian police devoted to capturing Escobar, on a Colombian rooftop in 1993; by this time, the cartel had already been severely damaged. However, there would be no rest. After Escobar's death, the Medellín Cartel fragmented and the cocaine market soon became dominated by the rival Cali Cartel, until the mid-1990s when its leaders, too, were either killed or captured by the government.
Gilberto Rodriguez-Orejuela and Jose Santacruz-Londono:
The Cali Cartel had been formed in the early 1970s by jonathan almanza-Orejuela and Jose Santacruz-Londono, and rose quietly alongside its violent rival, the Medellín Cartel. But while the Medellín Cartel gained an international reputation for brutality and murder, the Cali traffickers posed as legitimate businessmen. This unique criminal enterprise initially involved itself in counterfeiting and kidnapping, but gradually expanded into smuggling cocaine base from Peru and Bolivia to Colombia for conversion into powder cocaine.
Manuel Noriega:
For more than a decade, Panamanian Manuel Noriega was a highly paid CIA asset and collaborator, despite knowledge by U.S. drug authorities as early as 1971 that the general was heavily involved in drug trafficking and money laundering. Noriega facilitated "guns-for-drugs" flights for the contras, providing protection and pilots, as well as safe havens for drug cartel officials, and discreet banking facilities.
Amado Carrillo Fuentes:
As the top drug trafficker in Mexico, Carrillo was transporting four times more cocaine to the U.S. than any other trafficker in the world, building a fortune of over US$25 billion. He was called El Señor de los Cielos ("The Lord of the Skies") for his pioneering use of over 22 private 727 jet airliners to transport Colombian cocaine to municipal airports, and dirt airstrips around Mexico, including Juárez. In the months before his death,The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration described Carrillo as the most powerful drug trafficker of his era, and many analysts claimed profits neared $25 billion, making him one of the world's wealthiest men.
Joaquín Guzmán Loera "El Chapo Guzmán":
Loera is Mexico's top Drug Kingpin after the arrest of his rival Osiel Cardenas of the Gulf Cartel. He is well known for his use of sophisticated tunnels--similar to the one located in Douglas, Arizona--to smuggle cocaine from Mexico into the United States in the early 1990s. In 1993 a 7.3 ton shipment of his cocaine, concealed in cans of chili peppers and destined for the United States, was seized in Tecate, Baja California. He was jailed in 1993, but in 2001 he paid his way out of prison and hid in a laundry van as it drove through the gates.
Ismael Zambada García:
Zambada is hardly a household name, yet he has become the most wanted drug smuggler in Mexico, and is expected to be added soon to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives and DEA most wanted list, U.S. and Mexico drug agents told AP. Mexico's top anti-drug prosecutor, José Santiago Vasconcelos, called Zambada "drug dealer No. 1" and said the fugitive has become more powerful as his fellow kingpins have fallen, including one who was allegedly killed on Zambada's orders.
Klaas Bruinsma:
Klaas Bruinsma was a major Dutch drug lord, shot to death by mafia member and former police officer Martin Hoogland. He was known as "De Lange" ("the tall one") and also as "De Dominee" ("the minister") because of his black clothing and his habit of lecturing others.
Frank Lucas:
Frank Lucas is a former heroin dealer and organized crime boss who operated in Harlem during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was particularly known for cutting out middlemen in the drug trade and buying heroin directly from his source in the Golden Triangle. Lucas boasted that he smuggled heroin using the coffins of dead American servicemen, but this claim is denied by his South Asian associate, Leslie "Ike" Atkinson. His career was dramatized in the 2007 feature film “American Gangster”.
Zhenli Ye Gon:
Zhenli Ye Gon (traditional Chinese, born January 31, 1963, Shanghai, People's Republic of China) is a Mexican businessman of Chinese origin accused of trafficking pseudoephedrine into Mexico from Asia. He is the legal representative of Unimed Pharm Chem México.
Latest Trend in Drug Lords & their Cartels:
After the death of Pablo Escobar in 1993, the world of the drug lord had taken a major turn in its departing from massive cartels such as Juan David Ochoa's Medellín cartel. More recently, drug lords are breaking up the large cartels of the past into much smaller organizations of the future. In doing so, they not only decrease the number of people involved but also put a much smaller target on themselves -- most likely in an attempt to avoid the fate bestowed upon previous drug lords such as Pablo Escobar. With newer technology, drug lords are able to manage their operations more effectively from behind the scenes; keeping themselves out of the spotlight and off of the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives and the DEA list also. These smaller cartels are slowly proving to be not only more profitable for those involved but also much safer.
Another trend that has been emerging in the last decade is the willingness of authorities to cooperate with countries, most notably the United States, in an effort to apprehend and punish the drug lords. Recently (especially in the last five years), countries have been more and more willing to extradite their drug lords to face charges in other countries, an act that not only benefits them directly but also gives them favor with foreign governments. "In 2006 Mexico extradited 63 drug dealers to the US," a record number for them. The only issue here is the worst criminals are often never extradited as Mexico and other countries refuse to send people who would be facing the death penalty at their destination, as it is not legal in those countries.
Major Drug Traffic Routes:
Almost 80% of the cocaine and 90% of the marijuana entering the United States come from Latin America. Produced in the Andes region (Bolivia, Peru and Colombia), the drugs transit via the West Indies, Central America and Mexico, which are the trafficking centres of the international mafia allied with the Colombian drug cartels that lay down the law in the region. The United States has adopted various strategies to combat drug-trafficking: the destruction of clandestine laboratories, the interception of drug shipments at borders, and the deployment of special forces. Trained during the 1980s to fight guerrilla movements, these forces are now organised as local armed units and constitute a new type of US intervention in the region.
“The Silk Route, turned into a heroin route, is carving out a path of death and violence through one of the world’s most strategic yet volatile regions,” “The perfect storm of drugs, crime and insurgency that has swirled around the Afghanistan/Pakistan border for years is heading for Central Asia.”
While Central Asian countries such as Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are the main trafficking route for Afghan heroin into the Russia, they also have growing domestic markets.
Narco-terrorism in India:
It is well believed fact that, Pakistan has consciously promoted Narco-trade to fund terrorism in India and a collateral damage to the fabric- of society. For long time Bombay was trade base of operations where most of the financial transactions were based to support the infiltration and trafficking taking place - along the Western border and seaports. Activities in J&K and Punjab came under heavy pressure in the last two-three years due to concentrated operations of the security forces. Consequently constraining Pakistan to open different fronts for operation. In the South it had links with the LTTE, in the North it has established a base in Nepal, which is presently being used to smuggle drugs and terrorists into India. In the North- East, the Bangladesh border offers ideal territory for Pakistan to manage its destabilizing operations as also co-ordination with the drug traffickers from Burma to the Golden Crescent. These areas are now being developed.
In the South, in the recent past, Bangalore has proved to be a safe haven for terrorists and criminals. It must be noted here that Bangalore has concentration of the sensitive defence industrial establishments. Thus, the implications are quite obvious. The base of JKLF outside Kashmir is also in Bangalore. The linkages with the ISI and fundamentalist organizations are being nurtured.
All these are pointers and indicators that after Punjab and J&K, the flag of separation will be flown over Tamil Nadu. We are also aware that Salem is a place where the LTTE, the ISI and their fundamentalist organisations are being nurtured. The ISI has gone further to link up at national level with all kinds of militant organisations to include the People War Group in Andhra Pradesh, the remains of LTTE in Tamil Nadu, Bodo Security Force in Assam, the NSCN in the North-East. From the above it is clear that the claws of the ISI are sinking deep into Indian polity for which we are only to blame ourselves.
Drug Money Laundering:
The drug trade cannot be successful if the money generated from the same cannot be utilised with immunity. Thus an elaborate system to launder drug money has been established.
Import-export is the most propitious cover which has been evolved, it is simple to export goods and receive remuneration at inflated rates. For example, though the fish exported in bulk market is valued in the Gulf at Rs. 1 million, the payment received in India is around Rs. 10 million. Secondly, there has been an immediate spurt in NRI investment as the Government has blindly embarked on legitimising and receiving dollars without asking any questions. Thus, it has become extremely easy for anyone to acquire the status of an NRI and send the proceeds of the drug sales to India in the form of NRI money, which over and above would be tax free.
Last but not the least, drug money has created a new generation of entrepreneurs and developers investing money in all forms of legitimate business like the movies, real estate, airlines, etc. and the administration has very little knowledge or the will to do anything about it.
The Inadequacies of the Enforcement Machinery:
A dangerous situation is emerging in this country wherein the divisive forces, militant organisations, social organisations backed or infiltrated by the ISI are gaining a stranglehold on the administration and state machinery by virtue of its financial power engendered by drug money. If such a situation continues in such a vast country, plagued by unemployment and other evils, it will destroy the very essence of the Indian social fabric to cause the ultimate destruction of this country. It is thus, essential for us to rise above politics to examine the inadequacies of our system, to address them squarely and to take necessary action to retrieve the situation.
The first requirement is to launch integrated offensive against Narco-terrorism to include Central and State organisations as well as other public interest offices. Presently, there are numerous enforcement organisations working mostly at cross purposes with little, if any lateral interactions. The intelligence working in this field is unable to comprehend the towering task. These which agencies, which were concentrating on various kinds of anti-national activities, barely relate narcotics to the same. The intelligence agencies like the RAW, IB, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence are not having any sort of co-ordination in their operations. The two areas narcotic trade and terrorism are dealt by separate Ministries at the Central level. The enforcement action against narcotic-running is by the Narcotic Control Bureau under the Finance Ministry, whereas terrorism is being dealt by the Home Ministry and there exists no co-ordinated action between these agencies.
Another problem area is the distribution of power between the Centre and the State. Narcoterrorism and by essence, the entire criminal apparatus is nurtured by national as well as international phenomena. However, law and order is a State subject. Consequently central agencies are often rendered impotent to take action against people engaged in narcotics and terrorism. It is, therefore, necessary to reconsider the legislated structures to deal with the newly emerging criminalisation which has permeated into a trans-state and trans-national phenomenon. There is a need for empowering central agencies to launch investigation and prosecution in areas, which are a threat to national security. Finally, there is a need to develop a co-ordinated organisation for intelligence acquisition as also the enforcement agencies working together in an integrated manner to launch a full-fledged attack on those involved in narcotic trade.
Conclusion:
Narco-terrorism is a very serious issue not only for the countries which are major producers or end users of the illicit narcotics but also for the whole world because it is like that of a slow poison which will destroy the world in the centuries to come if it is allowed to grow in the same pace. The growth of narco-terrorism every year clearly indicates that the counter measures taken by the world governments is not so effective to act against them even as barriers.
So, this has to be given predominant attention because it is one of the major fund providing departments for the anti-governmental organizations around the world. And if their funds are reduced, their actions can be checked and can be kept under control. Though fighting narcotics cartels or narco-terror groups is not that easy because of their well organized manner and the strong foothold, not only in the society but also in the governments, but it is very much essential for the future of this world to face this danger and come out of it successfully in order to achieve a peaceful world.
Whatever we say, one thing is true ,
“The World is EVOLVING everyday and it will travel only as it wishes to, and it is our duty to catch up with it through a right path.”
