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This scenario was not limited to the Netherlands, which legalized the individual use of cannabis since 1976, as several countries witnessed a demand for drugs, after users estimated that the closure measures would affect the supply chains of narcotic substances and their capacity. to get them.
This is what really happened, as the Corona pandemic disrupted the illegal drug trade in ways not seen since World War II. This affected almost all countries and many different types of drugs, according to a United Nations report.
Lack of quantities and degree of purity.
According to the report produced by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the impact of the Corona pandemic on drug supply is not yet fully known. However, the restrictions imposed on the borders and other restrictions associated with the pandemic have already caused a shortage of narcotic drugs and, therefore, a decrease in the purity of drugs and an increase in their prices.
In France, for example, drug trafficking has decreased by between 30 and 40%, according to French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner. This, in turn, led to a price jump of between 30 and 60%, according to Stephanie Sherbounier, an official with the French Drug Enforcement Administration.
As for the reasons, Angela Mai, a researcher at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, says that small-scale riots are common in drug trafficking, but the chaos witnessed in recent months has hardly been has precedent, due to various factors related to employment, transportation and others.
The harvest season of poppy fields in Afghanistan, the world’s largest supplier of heroin, has seen a sudden shortage of field workers. According to the United Nations report, the harvest usually includes more than 100,000 people, but due to the closure of Afghanistan’s borders with Pakistan last March, it is no longer possible to provide these figures.
Also in Colombia, cocaine production has been affected by the gasoline shortage. Meanwhile, synthetic drug production in Mexico has slowed due to a lack of primary chemicals needed to produce heroin and methamphetamine in Southeast Asia, as a result of border closures.
Adaptation in production and promotion
Another factor that can be mentioned here is the difficulty of receiving payment for selling drugs. “There is a notable increase in police presence linked to stay-at-home orders,” says Utham Dillon, acting director of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, “along with border closures, making transportation difficult. of drugs to the north and money to the south. “
But experts in illicit trade say that drug traffickers have an advantage over others, as they are used to discovering ways to smuggle their products and the distortions that can occur in supply chains as a result of law enforcement.
On this basis, the closure measures and all the obstacles imposed by the pandemic have not stopped drug traffickers from trying to adapt to the new situation and keep supply chains running.
The UN report notes an increase in the number of local women working in the poppy fields in Afghanistan, replacing female workers unable to travel due to the closure measures.
The most notable change occurred in the work of the main drug cartels, as their work went from air and land transportation to maritime transportation to bring products from Mexico to the United States. They have gone ahead of the shutdown by trying to smother Europe with drugs, hoping to preserve the market for cocaine, which is worth more than $ 10 billion.
According to Bob van den Berg, a law enforcement official at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, “based on the seizure of more cocaine shipments than usual, it can be said that Europe was awash with cocaine before general isolation measures “.
Van den Berg points out that during the first three months of this year 17.5 tons of cocaine were seized in South American ports, especially in Brazil, bound for Europe, noting that this represents an increase of around 20% compared to the same 2019 period.
Last April, Belgian authorities also seized about 5 tons of cocaine in a container coming from Latin America at the port of Antwerp, which was the main point of entry for cocaine into Europe last year, as more than 60 were intercepted. tons.
On April 16, British customs officials seized 14 kilograms of cocaine, valued at around a million pounds, which had been concealed in a shipment of masks within the customs area of the Channel Tunnel.
“Delifry” and “Drenz”
Delivery methods have also seen attempts to adapt to the new situation. Last April, the International Police Organization, INTERPOL, issued a “purple notice” to warn its 194 member agencies about a new modus operandi that relied on delivery workers using bicycles, motorcycles or cars.
In its warning, the organization said that drug traffickers are using food delivery services as cover for the transportation of drugs and other illegal goods during the coronavirus crisis.
In Spain, seven people posing as delivery men were arrested in Alicante and Valencia after drugs were found in hidden pockets of food delivery backpacks. In Ireland, police found eight kilograms of cocaine and two weapons hidden in pizza boxes.
Along with these methods, the use of drones has witnessed significant activity. Traders in several countries used these planes to transport drug shipments, specifically on the US-Mexico border, according to a United Nations report.
Internet commerce has also exploded during the coronavirus crisis. Some statistics indicate a major shift from street level to digital.
According to an investigation by the British newspaper The Independent, sales of drug trafficking on the Internet increased by 495% in the first months of the epidemic, and advertisements for the cannabis plant increased by 555%. The biggest increase was registered in the cocaine lists, which increased 1,000% between December and April.
Fear of “overdoses”
But the ability of drug traffickers to adapt to the lockdown measures imposed by the Coronavirus is not in itself the only risk factor, as many international reports have warned of long-term effects.
According to a United Nations report, the disruption of drug trafficking can lead to drug storage. This, according to the report, could lead to an increase in supply once restrictions are eased, and could flood the markets with cheap and very pure drugs, which could lead to an increase in overdoses by users.
The report adds that the economic hardships resulting from the spread of the Coronavirus can also place additional burdens on the poor, which may ultimately lead them to engage in drug trafficking in search of a material resource.
Drug traffickers are also taking advantage of the repercussions of the Coronavirus to boost their social standing, providing assistance to local residents. “There are indications that drug trafficking groups are adapting their strategies to continue with their operations, and that some are beginning to exploit the situation to improve their image among the population providing services, especially to vulnerable groups,” says the United Nations report.
The Financial Times points to another aspect related to the lasting impact of the crisis on drug trafficking in terms of the development of new methods and alliances, in addition to the potential emergence of organizations that better exploit the crisis.
And it’s something Vanda Philpab Brown, an illegal trade expert at the Brookings Institution, hopes will drive automated transportation, just like legal businesses. “Likewise, we will come to a time when drug dealers deliver their daily orders. Weekly or monthly via drone to the windowsill.
In conclusion, it is worth noting what experts in drug trafficking and use disorders say, in the sense that when drugs are harder to find or more expensive, the most addictive people seek treatment. However, this poses a complex problem in light of the difficulty of accessing medical care in clinics and hospitals, in addition to the situation suffered by the health sectors as a result of the virus outbreak.
