Vice and

Drug Education
and Control
(SY 2022-2023)
Lesson 2 – World
Drug Situation
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black
market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture,
distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most
jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many
types of drugs through the use of drug prohibition laws.
The think tank Global Financial Integrity's Transnational
Crime and the Developing World report estimates the size
of the global illicit drug market between US$426 and
US$652 billion in 2014 alone. With a world GDP of US$78
trillion in the same year, the illegal drug trade may be
estimated as nearly 1% of total global trade. Consumption
of illegal drugs is widespread globally and it remains very
difficult for local authorities to thwart its popularity.
Heroin Production Region
The Golden Crescent is the name given to one of Asia's two principal areas
of illicit opium production (with the other being the Golden Triangle).
Located at the crossroads of Central, South, and Western Asia, this space
covers the mountainous peripheries of Afghanistan and Pakistan,
extending into eastern Iran.
In 2007, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) heroin production
estimates for the past 10 years showed significant changes in the primary source
areas. In 1991, Afghanistan became the world's primary opium producer, with a
yield of 1,782 metric tons (U.S. State Department estimates), surpassing Myanmar,
formerly the world leader in opium production. The decrease in heroin production
from Myanmar is the result of several years of unfavorable growing conditions and
new government policies of forced eradication. Afghan heroin production
increased during the same time frame, with a notable decrease in 2001 allegedly as
a result of the Taliban's fatwa against heroin production. Afghanistan has produced
over 90% of the world's illicit opium in the recent past. In addition to opiates,
Afghanistan was also the world's largest producer of hashish during that time.
Opium production and trafficking are known to have funded the Taliban's military
activities and insurgency.
The Golden Triangle is the area where the borders of Thailand, Laos, and
Myanmar meet at the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong rivers. The name
"Golden Triangle"—coined by the CIA—is commonly used more broadly to refer
to an area of approximately 950,000 square kilometres (367,000 sq mi) that
overlaps the mountains of the three adjacent countries.

Along with Afghanistan in the Golden Crescent, it has been one of the largest
opium-producing areas of the world since the 1950s. Most of the world's heroin
came from the Golden Triangle until the early 21st century when Afghanistan
became the world's largest producer. The majority of the region's opium is now
produced in Myanmar and, to a lesser extent, Laos.
 Opium production in Myanmar is the world's second-largest source of opium
after Afghanistan, producing some 25% of the world's opium, forming part of
the Golden Triangle. In recent times however, opium poppy cultivation in
Myanmar has declined year-on-year since 2015. According to latest data from
the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), an estimated 405
metric tons (mt) of opium were produced in Myanmar in 2020, representing
less than half of the estimate of 2013 (870 mt), while the area of opium poppy
cultivation declined by 11% from 33,100 in 2019 to 29,500 hectares (ha). With
that said, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has
warned that opium production in Myanmar may rise again if the economic
crunch brought on by COVID-19 and the 2021 military coup persists, with
fallout for much of Asia.

Harvested poppy capsules.

Illegal drug trade in Colombia

The illegal drug trade in Colombia has, since the 1970s, centered successively
on four major drug trafficking cartels: Medellín, Cali, Norte del Valle, and
North Coast, as well as several bandas criminales, or BACRIMs. The trade
eventually created a new social class and influenced several aspects of
Colombian culture and politics.

The Colombian government efforts to reduce the influence of drug-related

criminal organizations is one of the origins of the Colombian conflict, an
ongoing low-intensity war among rival narcoparamilitary groups, guerrillas
and drug cartels fighting each other to increase their influence and against
the Colombian government that struggles to stop them.
The Medellín Cartel (Spanish: Cartel de Medellín) was a powerful and highly
organized Colombian drug cartel and terrorist organization originating in the
city of Medellín, Colombia that was founded and led by Pablo Escobar. It is
often considered the first major “drug cartel” and was referred to as such (a
cartel) due to the organization's upper echelons being built on a partnership
between multiple Colombian traffickers operating alongside Escobar. Included
were Jorge Luis Ochoa Vásquez, Juan David Ochoa Vásquez, José Gonzalo
Rodríguez Gacha and Carlos Lehder.

Pablo Escobar
The cartel operated from 1970 to 1993 in Bolivia, Colombia, Panama, Central
America, Peru, the Bahamas, the United States (which included cities such as
Los Angeles and Miami), as well as in Canada. Although the organization
started out as a smuggling network in the early 1970s, it wasn't until 1976 that
the organization turned to trafficking cocaine. This was a result of Escobar
getting introduced to the lucrative idea of cocaine smuggling by fellow
Colombian trafficker Griselda Blanco. At the height of its operations, the
Medellín Cartel smuggled multiple tons of cocaine each week into countries
around the world and brought in up to US$60 million daily in drug profits.
The Cali Cartel (Spanish: Cartel de Cali) was a drug cartel based in southern
Colombia, around the city of Cali and the Valle del Cauca Department. Its
founders were the brothers Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela and Miguel Rodríguez
Orejuela. They broke away from Pablo Escobar and his Medellín associates in
1987, when Hélmer "Pacho" Herrera joined what became a four-man executive
board that ran the cartel.

At the height of the Cali Cartel's reign from 1993-1995, they were cited as
having control of over 80% of the world's cocaine market and were said to be
directly responsible for the growth of the cocaine market in Europe,
controlling 80% of the market there as well. By the mid-1990s, the Cali
Cartel's international drug trafficking empire was a $7 billion a year criminal
enterprise.
The Cali Cartel was formed by the Rodriguez Orejuela brothers and
Santacruz, all coming from what is described as a higher social background
than most other traffickers of the time. The recognition of this social
background was displayed in the group's nickname as "Los Caballeros de Cali"
("Gentlemen of Cali").The group originally assembled as a ring of kidnappers
known as "Las Chemas", which was led by Luis Fernando Tamayo García. Las
Chemas were implicated in numerous kidnappings including those of two
Swiss citizens: a diplomat, Herman Buff, and a student, Zack "Jazz Milis"
Martin. The kidnappers reportedly received $700,000 in ransom, which is
believed to have been used to fund their drug trafficking empire.
A triad is a Chinese transnational organized crime syndicate
based in Greater China and has outposts in various countries with
significant overseas Chinese diaspora populations.
The Hong Kong triad is distinct from mainland Chinese criminal
organizations. In ancient China, the triad was one of three
major secret societies. It established branches in Macau, Hong
Kong, Taiwan and Chinese communities overseas. Known as
"mainland Chinese criminal organizations", they are of two
major types: “dark forces” (loosely-organized groups) (Chinese:
黑 恶 势 力 ; pinyin: Hēi è shìlì; lit. 'evil forces' ） and “Black
Societies" (Chinese: 黑社会 ; pinyin: Hēishèhuì) (more-mature
criminal organizations).
Two features which distinguish a black society from ordinary "dark
forces" or low level criminal gangs are the extent to which the
organization is able to control local markets and the degree of
police protection able to be obtained. The Hong Kong triad refers
to traditional criminal organizations operating in (or originating
from) Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and south-east Asian countries
and regions, while organized-crime groups in mainland China are
known as "mainland Chinese criminal groups".
Drug Syndicates in the Philippines

The advent of globalization results in a more liberal movement of people and

commerce, an opportunity being capitalized upon by drug syndicates. They
recognize no boundary or jurisdiction, and their main motivation is profit.

There are two identified transnational drug groups operating in the

Philippines:

African Drug Syndicate

Chinese or Filipino-Chinese Drug Group

African Drug Syndicate
The African Drug Syndicate (ADS) is dominated by African nationals who facilitate
the smuggling of dangerous drugs into the country for local distribution. They
usually use human drug couriers who will smuggle drugs into a country of
destination in exchange for a huge amount of money. This strategy enables them to
carry out their illicit drug activities without the risk of being caught themselves.
Based on the records of the Task Force Drug Couriers (TFDC),
ADS usually employ women as couriers.
Chinese/Filipino-Chinese Drug Syndicates
The Chinese/Filipino-Chinese drug syndicates dominate the country’s illegal drug trade
by undertaking bulk smuggling and manufacturing of illegal drugs. Bulk smuggling and
manufacturing activities ensure the abundant supply of illegal drugs in the market.
Usually, their activities are largely concentrated within their group, with the inclusion
of very few and well-selected locals.

Further, Chinese/Filipino-Chinese drug groups are also responsible for the

establishment of clandestine laboratories and illegal chemical warehouses in the
country