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Drug trafficking in Afghanistan
Main article: Drugs in Afghanistan
History
2024
Foreigners who tried to take 570 kg of cocaine worth ₽5,5 billion to the EU were detained in the Moscow region
Employees of the FSB and the Federal Customs Service of Russia stopped an attempt to smuggle a large consignment of cocaine from Peru through the territory of Russia to the countries of the European Union on December 6, 2024. In the Moscow region, members of the Colombian cartel "Cali" with 570 kg of drugs were detained. Read more here.
The rise of drug trafficking in the Sahel
According to [1] a UN report published in the spring of 2024, the number of drug seizures in the African Sahel region has increased sharply, indicating that significant routes for the trafficking of various illegal substances pass through this region.
In 2022, 1,500 kg of cocaine was seized in Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso and Niger, compared with an average of 13 kg between 2013 and 2020. A sharp increase has been observed since 2021.
From this, it can be concluded that cocaine traffic from Latin America changes the delivery patterns of the product to Europe, using West Africa.
So Senegal and Guinea became one of the main hubs from where narcotic substances enter European countries. Despite the perceived struggle with large parties and the detention of traders, corruption allows illegal traders to easily redirect traffic in the right direction.
From Dakar and Conakry, cocaine enters Mali, where separatists Azawada and radical Islamists from the al-Qaeda-affiliated group Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslim (DNIM) organize transit through the town of Tabankort in the north of the country. Then cocaine enters the Niger city of Agadez, from where it is redirected to Libya, and from Tobruk traffic goes to Europe.
By ensuring the smooth operation of drug trafficking, various armed groups in the Sahel receive funds for the purchase of weapons in the illegal market.
Further south, from Gulf of Guinea ports such as Kot-d and Benin, traffic heads to Burkina Faso and Niger. Thus, Latin American traders, taking advantage of instability in the Sahel region, redirect major routes through war-torn countries. On the ground, they are helped by various armed groups driven by a thirst for profit, which is facilitated by officials of ECOWAS states.
Today, only the authorities in the countries of the Alliance of Sahel States are engaged in the real fight against drug trafficking, since in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, drug trafficking is one of the most important sources of financing for local gangs.
2023: Lithuanian drug mafia caught in Russia with hashish for 2 billion rubles
In the Leningrad region, a consignment of hashish, which amounted to 812 kg of the drug, which was illegally transported to the territory of the Russian Federation, was seized from smugglers. The press service of the Federal Customs Service (FCS) of the Russian Federation announced this on August 24, 2023. Read more here.
2022
In Malaga, police smashed a British gang sending drugs to their homeland and EU countries
The gang specialized in making false bottoms for shipping containers. The leader of the group is wanted by courts in the United Kingdom and has extensive experience in policing.
Police Spain officers in December 2022 arrested six people who were experts in concealing huge numbers drugs to be sent to other countries, Europe particularly Britain.
They even had a scanner similar to those used by airport security to check if drugs they had hidden in fake shipping container bases would be found somewhere on the way.
Gang members are accused of creating a criminal gang, drug trafficking, forgery and identity theft. One of them had more than €150,000 in cash and fake documents when he was caught.
The group was based in an area in Alaurín de la Torre, where they reportedly modified containers that are used for ship transport to create a false bottom in which drugs could be hidden.
They then took the drug containers to a warehouse in the Guadalorce industrial estate and loaded them into a truck. These containers were then transported by sea to Britain.
During a search of the premises, materials and equipment for making a double bottom in containers were found. There, the criminals kept the scanner.
In total, the Civil Guard seized 900 kg of hashish, more than 40 kg of marijuana buds and 13 vehicles, and closed an indoor marijuana plantation that grew more than 1,700 plants.
The gang's ringleader is reportedly wanted by courts in Britain and has long been tried by police for similar offences.
Spanish police intercept British sailboat with four tons of hashish
Agents of the National Police during a joint operation with the Customs Supervision of the Tax Agency and with the participation of the National Great Britain Crime Agency in December 2022 seized more than four tons of hashish aboard a British sailboat in Cadiz Bay, "the press release said.
According to police, the ship went to the west coast of Morocco to load drugs, but later, due to weather conditions, it was forced to return to Spanish waters.
During the operation, two crew members from Britain were detained, who were supposedly supposed to go to South America.
10 richest drug lords in history
In early December 2022, information appeared about the ten richest drug lords in history. Illegal drug trafficking is one of the "industries" that is surrounded by violence, corruption and vast amounts of money.
Drugs have always been part of human history in some form, but only recently have some people come together in grassroots organizations/empires engaged in the production, distribution and sale of illicit drugs. These groups, whether gangs or large drug cartels, make a lot of money from drug profits. At the top of any of these organizations is usually one person who earns the most: a drug lord. Here we take a look at the ten richest drug lords of all time to show you how much money these people have made.
10. Joaquín Guzmán Loera|Fortune: $1 billion
A Mexican drug lord who heads the Sinaloa cartel and is considered the most powerful and famous drug lord in the modern world. Known as "El Chapo," Joaquin's cartel mainly deals in cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and ecstasy, which are mostly supplied to the US for sale. His fortune is estimated at about $1 billion, and he is known for his escapes from prisons. El Chapo was arrested and jailed several times, but managed to escape each time, most recently in July this year. He dug a tunnel from a maximum-security prison in Mexico and is still at large.
9. Griselda Blanco|Net worth: $2 billion
This is followed by Griselda Blanco (aka Black Widow, aka Godmother of Cocaine), whose fortune is estimated at $2 billion. Griselda was a member of the infamous Medellín cartel and was associated with it during its most powerful years. In the 1970s and 1980s. Griselda primarily worked in New York City and Miami, helping with cocaine supplies that made their way to the United States. It is estimated that during its heyday, its activities in the United States generated a monthly income of about $80 million. Over the years, however, Griselda became increasingly violent and paranoid, like many drug lords, and was eventually arrested, but the case fell apart. She then fled to Colombia, where she hid, and in 2012 was killed in Medellín, Colombia, in a contract killing.
8. Carlos Leder|Fortune: $2.7 billion
A Colombian drug lord known as one of the original co-founders of the Medellin cartel. Carlos initially worked with the cartel as the leader of a paramilitary guerrilla army that fought various other groups in Colombia seeking to end the cartel. In addition, in the 1970s, he purchased and operated an island in the Bahamas that served as a transit point for drug shipments bound from Colombia to the United States. He began to coerce the local population of the island, and for a short time it was essentially lawless land ruled by Lechder and his guerrilla forces. Eventually, his cartel began to be rejected from him because of his increasingly militarized and radical behavior, leading to his capture and arrest by the United States.
7. Hilberto and Miguel Orejuela|Net worth: $3 billion
Brothers Hilberto and Miguel Orejuela were among the founders and leaders of the Cali Cartel, a drug cartel from Colombia and one of the main competitors of the Medellín Cartel. Like the Medellín Cartel, the Cali Cartel came to power in the 1970s. They initially supplied mostly cannabis to the US, but soon switched to cocaine. While the Medellín Cartel waged war against the Colombian government, the Cali Cartel was less violent and focused on making money. It is believed that during their heyday, Hilberto and Miguel had a total net capital of $3 billion. Both were eventually captured, extradited to the US and are currently serving 30-year prison sentences in maximum security prisons.
6. José Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha|Fortune: $5 billion
José Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha was a drug lord from Colombia and one of the main leaders of the Medellín cartel, working alongside his friends and associates Pablo Escobar, the Ochoa brothers and Carlos Lehder. Born into poverty, Rodriguez became a hit man in his youth. He eventually moved to Medellín, where he teamed up with other people and created the Medellín Cartel. Rodriguez helped organize various drug trafficking routes throughout South and Latin America, as well as build various laboratories in the jungle, where cocaine was actually produced. As their operations grew, Rodriguez began to diversify, owning ranches and gemstone mines. As the Colombian government began to fight the Medellín cartel hard, Rodríguez became one of the main people who organized kidnappings and bombings against police, dignitaries, judges and various members of the government. Jose continued to resist arrests and fight the government until he was killed in a police raid in 1989.
5. Khun Sa|Net worth: $5 billion
Khun Sa was a Shan warlord and drug lord who is also known as the "opium king." Khun Sa became famous in the 1960s when he fled to Burma during the end of the Chinese Civil War. He began to organize a small militia of fighters, which eventually turned into an army fighting for the Shang state. He eventually became involved in the opium and later heroin trade as he controlled the production and transportation of these drugs in Southeast Asia. Khun Sa was accused by the United States of drug trafficking, and then surrendered to the Burmese government in the hope that he would not be extradited to the United States. He was subsequently never imprisoned and lived the rest of his life in Rangoon.
4. The Ochoa Brothers|Fortune: $6 billion
Jorge, Juan David and Fabio Ochoa are three brothers who were also co-founders and members of the Medellín Cartel. The Ochoa brothers were engaged in the production and trafficking of cocaine even before the creation of the Medellin cartel, and it was logical for them to join forces with Escobar, Rodriquez and others. During the heyday of their activities, their total fortune was estimated at about $6 billion. As their drug empire began to crumble, Jorge and Juan David eventually surrendered to the Colombian government and Fabio was extradited to the US.
3. Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar|Net worth: $6.7 billion
An Indian criminal and drug lord who heads the infamous D-Company syndicate in India. Dawood's organization controls everything from homicides to drug trafficking. He is believed to be responsible for the 1993 Mumbai bombings and is known as a close ally of al-Qaeda and even Osama bin Laden when he was alive. Dawood is estimated to be worth about $6.7 billion and is currently one of the most wanted criminals. His current whereabouts are unknown, but it is speculated that he may reside in Pakistan or the United Arab Emirates.
2. Amado Carrillo Fuentes|Net worth: $25 billion
Amado Carrillo Fuentes was a Mexican drug lord who led the Juárez cartel after personally killing its former leader Rafael Aguilar Guajardo. Amado was known as the "Lord of the Sky" as he had 27 Boeing 727 aircraft that regularly flew to the US carrying cocaine. It is estimated that his fortune at one point was estimated at $25 billion, which made him one of the richest drug lords in history. When governments from different countries began trying to catch Amado, he decided to have plastic surgery on his face to change his appearance. During the operation, he died, however, there are several conspiracy theories that he is still alive.
1. Pablo Escobar|Fortune: $30 billion
The most famous and wealthy drug lord ever to live. He was a major member and founder of the Medellín Cartel and one of the richest criminals in history. During the heyday of the Medellin cartel and its empire, it is estimated that Pablo supplied 80% of the cocaine sold in the United States, and the cartel brought in more than $60 million daily. During his lifetime, he was one of the richest people in the whole world. In the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, he fought an extremely tough fight against the Colombian government. Escobar was eventually killed during a round-up in 1993, leaving behind an infamous legacy.[1]
Notes
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