They too must adapt to the health crisis and the paralysis of international transport. Drug traffickers have to deal with a shortage of raw materials and are trying to adapt their delivery routes disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a UN report published on Thursday.
Massive border closures also lead to a shortage in retailing, reported by several states and which may "have negative health effects for people with substance use disorders," said the United Nations Office on Drugs. and crime (UNODC).
# COVID19 pandemic disrupts the #drug trafficking routes by air leading to increased use of maritime and land routes, depending on the drugs smuggled.
More in the latest UNODC research brief:
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Consumers Could Fall Back on "Harmful Substances"
"Drug trafficking by air is likely to be completely disrupted by restrictions on air transport," said UNODC, which observed "signs of increased shipping routes", particularly for cocaine trafficking since South America to Europe.
In Europe, in South-West Asia and in North America in particular, a decrease in the supply of heroin has also been reported, with an increasing risk of overdose and sharing of injection equipment, vectors of viral contamination .
Heroin users may be forced to fall back on "harmful substances produced locally", while states have seen inflation in the price of substitution drugs.
Economic difficulties can "change for the worse" the use of narcotics, warns the UNODC, based in Vienna in Austria, which expects a reduction in national budgets relating to the fight against drugs.
Demand for cannabis increases with containment
Afghanistan has closed its borders to individuals with Iran and Pakistan and limited free movement within the country, which may affect the poppy harvest between March and June and "hinder the production of opiates". 90% of the poppy planted for illegal purposes is cultivated in Afghanistan.
Cocaine production also seems to have slowed down in Colombia due to the lack of fuel and synthetic drugs in Lebanon as in Syria suffer from a lack of precursors, the legal chemicals diverted for their manufacture.
And there are signs that containment is leading to increased demand for cannabis, which could "intensify trafficking activities between North Africa and Europe".
"A lasting and profound transformation of the drug markets"
"It seems that drug trafficking groups are adapting their strategies, some of them having started to exploit the situation in order to strengthen their image with the population by providing services, in particular to vulnerable people", in order to find new opportunities.
In the long term, the economic consequences of the pandemic "have the potential to lead to a lasting and profound transformation of the drug markets", writes the UNOCD.
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