By Nieves Zúñiga, Jamie Bergin

The Western Balkans is a transit region for smuggling of migrants, trafficking in persons and illicit trade. These illicit activities often perpetrated by organised criminal groups lead to heightened risks of corruption among border officers and customs officials. Dedicated policy responses to border corruption are generally underdeveloped, but there are some emerging positive developments at the national level as well as increasing regional cooperation efforts.

Bergen: U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, Chr. Michelsen Institute. , U4 Help Desk, 2025. 33p

By Manuel Sánchez-Pérez, María Belén Marín-Carrillo, María Dolores Illescas-Manzano & Zohair Souilim 

Despite the social, health, law enforcement, and economic importance of illegal drug supply, the lack of information and understanding regarding these supply chains stands out. This paper carries out a disaggregated analysis of the structure of the hashish supply chain from Morocco to Europe to explain the value contributions at each level, the end-price formation, and the supply chain management practices. The methodology adopted is based on a mixed method of data collection where the primary data are gathered from field interviews with cannabis producers and dealers and secondary information is obtained from official statistics, research papers, informational reports, and documentaries. We review supply and value chain frameworks through the lens of cost–benefit analysis. Our main findings show an unequal contribution on the part of the different levels of distribution, with end-user prices increasing by 7000% of the cost of production during the supply chain. The chain also has high variable costs but limited fixed ones, exacerbating the lack of stability and fostering continuous adaptation. We also detect a reluctance to raise end-user prices but a great propensity to change quality. This research may have implications for several stakeholders. In the case of dealers, we find that they have created a supply-push system thanks to their dominant power, leaning on information sharing as a source of resilience. In the case of law enforcement, we delve into the operational functioning of the drug chain and the reasons for its survival. For financial investigation operations, unknown or unrealized economic parameters are quantified. For development agencies, the need to implement alternative development programs for producers is evidenced. Finally, for health authorities, we highlight the consequences of seizures and prohibitions of hashish trafficking on the deterioration of the quality of hashish and the subsequently added health hazards for end-users.

Humanit Soc Sci Commun 10, 276 (2023)

By Federico Bertola

Drug trafficking on darknet based marketplaces has become a highly concerning topic in law enforcement activities, recently. Even though Dark Markets represent only a tiny fraction of the global drug trade, they are changing the drug markets' social networks, introducing a new paradigm of the link between vendors and buyers of drugs. The aim of this study is to critically review the dark markets' ecosystem and the previous literature regarding these new marketplaces, trying to investigate how the drug trade is changing with these new technologies, and the role of organised crime (OC) in these new illegal markets. And trying to understand how and whether it involved OC on these cyber drug markets and the chain behind them. Despite opinions of part of the academy, the results show that there are no empirical evidences of direct involvement of OC as vendors in dark markets. However, there is evidence of an indirect role of OC in darknet drug trafficking, as supplier of illegal drugs to the online-vendors. 

AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 4, Issue 2 (Special Issue), pp. 27-34

By The: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Illicit financial flows (IFFs)- financial flows that are illicit in origin, transfer, or use, that reflect an exchange of value and cross country borders – are major impediments to sustainable development. They divert important resources away from state revenue and public investments, foster impunity, and ultimately erode criminal justice systems as a whole. The harmful effects of illicit Financial flows and the need to reduce them are demonstrated by their inclusion in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as Target 16.4. It stipulates the goal to “significantly reduce illicit financial flows and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime”. Progress towards this target is measured by SDG Indicator 16.4.1 (the “total value of inward and outward IFFs in current US dollars”), for which UNODC is the custodian together with UNCTAD.

Organized crimes vary in their characteristics, objectives, and the extent to which they cross national borders. Consequently, the amount and nature of the IFFs they generate also varies. Given the transnational nature of smuggling of migrants (SOM) and cross-border trafficking in persons (TIP), monitoring and combatting IFFs is crucially important for disrupting, prosecuting, and dismantling the organized criminal networks committing these dangerous crimes.

This Study focuses on the trends, nuances, and complexities surrounding IFFs associated with smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons into the European Union (EU), with specific attention paid to those relating to GLO.ACT partner countries.1 It is based on an analysis of available data, field research findings, and review of secondary literature.

Vienna: UNODC, 2023. 86p.