INTRODUCTION

Ever since the Shanghai Opium Commission in 1909, many countries around the world have found themselves grappling with problems of drug abuse and many conventions have formulated proposals to reduce the international trade in illicit substances. International collaborative efforts and polices have mostly been geared to obstructing the supply of drugs, while efforts to control demand have been left to national governments. Judged by world seizures, it is clear that various forms of illicit drugs continue to be sold and used at unacceptably high levels in many parts of the world. Moreover, with the advent of globalization, drugs are traveling across borders much more commonly than they once did. Many countries without histories of drug use, particularly developing countries, are now reporting problems of abuse because they have become transit points for international drug trafficking. This has not only become a threat to public health but also to public safety and security.

Because of lucrative profits drug traffickers will always find a way to meet the demand for drugs. Traffickers are opportunistic and can be expected to: market new drugs; seek out new routes to smuggle drugs; seek new partners among organized crime groups in different countries; exploit new manufacturing and communication technologies; recruit vulnerable individuals into the work of trafficking; and find ways to launder the proceedings. This chapter provides a descriptive account of international drug trafficking intended to assist understanding of its complex nature and of the challenges involved in its control.