Home > UNODC taps into maritime crime-fighting experience to tackle high seas drug smugglers.

[United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime] UNODC taps into maritime crime-fighting experience to tackle high seas drug smugglers. (09 Sep 2014)

External website: http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2014/Septe...

In the last four years the traffic of heroin destined to Europe and North Africa has shifted dramatically from the northern routes to the southern maritime routes. Naval forces belonging to the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) - a coalition of 30 states headquartered in Bahrain - have seized more than four tons of heroin in the past 18 months alone. The seizures indicate the huge volume of heroin being transported by sea.

UNODC organized a special event today entitled "Success of the Piracy Prosecution Model: A Blueprint to End Impunity at Sea", where government officials and experts from different countries discussed how to apply UNODC's experience gained from pirate prosecutions under its Maritime Crime Programme (MCP) to combat the trafficking of narcotics at sea.

Despite the successes in intercepting vessels carrying illicit drugs, those caught trafficking heroin on the high seas frequently escape prosecution. During drug seizure operations in international waters the CMF has been forced to set the alleged traffickers free, as there is currently no mechanism to enable drug trafficking prosecutions.


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