Increased Drug Trafficking in Indian Ocean Needs Action
Heroin from Afghanistan is increasingly trafficked through the Indian Ocean and more international action is needed to prosecute smugglers on the high seas, the United Nations anti-crime and drug body said on Tuesday. In the last 18 months, more than 4,200 kg of heroin have been seized in the Indian Ocean on the way to East Africa, Europe and North America, and quantities are rising, according to the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), a multinational maritime force that is seizing narcotics in the area. Most traffickers are let go after the drugs are thrown overboard, said Deputy Commander Keith Blount of CMF at a U.N. meeting in Vienna. National authorities often lack the right or capacity to make arrests outside their territorial waters.
Isolate Piracy Ringleaders & Financiers Advises UNODC Chief
Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime, Yury Fedotov summed up his advice at the conclusion of his East Africa visit. During the visit to East Africa, the UNODC Chief discussed counter-piracy efforts with heads of state and ministers, met with local counter-piracy and organized crime experts, and inspected prisons, and a training academy. "If we are to counter piracy, we must break-up the criminal groups, identify and isolate the ringleaders and financiers, and disrupt their cash shipments through coordinated police and border work. UNODC's role is to support the criminal justice chain. We also recognize that there is no piracy without pirates.
