Ship operators at increased risk of drug smuggling
Commercial carriers are not willing participants in the trafficking of drugs, but they may be exposed to various losses including fines if drugs are found on-board. The P&I cover for fines arising out of smuggling was changed at the start of the 2021 insurance policy year. It is important that Members are aware of the change, the increased exposure and how to deal with the challenges related to smuggling when operating ships.
Where trafficked drugs come from and where they are going
In its World Drug Report 2020 the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) states that illicit drug use has been on the increase in the five-year period to 2019. Drug use is more widespread in developed countries but rising more rapidly in developing countries. The UNODC report is based in part on global drug seizure data to analyze trends including smuggling routes. UNODC reports that Colombia remains the country where most coca leaf (used to
Indian Ocean: Pakistan’s ‘Merry-time’ Route For Narcotics Trafficking
Sun Online Desk
6th May, 2021 09:43:32
After a 10-hour vigil in March this year, British warship HMS Montrose that was on patrol in the Arabian Sea intercepted a dhow off Oman, leading to recovery of nearly three tonnes of heroin, crystal methamphetamine and hashish. The frigate had reported two back-to-back seizures in mid-February, confiscating a range of illegal narcotics worth US $15 million. In December last year, U.S. Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson intercepted over 900 kilograms of narcotics from a stateless dhow operating in the Arabian Sea. USS Ralph Johnson, like HMS Montrose, was deployed in support of Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), the international partnership for maritime security in the Western Indian Ocean, and her success marked the fourth CMF narcotics seizure since October 2020.
Story highlights
These days a hit costs as little as 120 shillings (USD$1.10/0.90 euros), creating a devastating path to dependence for poor, troubled Kenyans
Esther Wanjiru started using heroin at 16 to dull the pain after her baby died, first smoking, and now injecting the opioid which has become increasingly cheap and abundant in Kenya. I am a heavy junkie, I usually need two doses, said Wanjiru, 22, as she puts the needle to a damaged vein, surrounded by about 60 other addicts in a clearing behind a church in a Nairobi slum.
Once just a passing stop on the trafficking route to Europe, Kenya is becoming a major destination in itself for heroin, with addiction rising as tonnes of powder pass through East Africa.
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Almost 10 million Bangladeshi migrants work across the world. A UNICEF report states that, approximately 400 women and children in Bangladesh are victims of trafficking every month. According to a report, approximately 3,000,000 Bangladeshi children and women have been trafficked out of the country in the last 10 years. A Pakistan based organization, Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid’s report shows nearly 200,000 Bangladeshi women and girls were sold in Pakistan. The statistics highlight how grave the human trafficking situation is in Bangladesh…”
Dr. Rashida Khanam
Human trafficking is a violation of human rights, an unethical and heinous crime against humanity. “The trade of human beings, a modern form of slavery . . . violates the God-given dignity . . .”.
Saudi Arabia s produce ban sends Lebanon a political message
The ban has been viewed as collective punishment at a time of economic crisis. [Getty] Date of publication: 5 May, 2021 Share this page:
In another hit to Lebanon s agricultural sector amid the country s economic crisis, Saudi Arabia announced in late April that it would ban the import of fruit and vegetables after authorities seized more than 5.3 million Captagon pills that were hidden in a pomegranate consignment.
In the past six years, Saudi authorities say they have seized 600 million pills and hundreds of kilograms of Captagon coming from Lebanon. The quantities that were thwarted are enough to drown the entire Arab world, not just Saudi Arabia, in narcotics and psychotropic substances, Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari tweeted.