Market Data: 2009 May
North Korean earns up to $100 million selling missiles
Newsweek reported that North Korea earns around $100 million a year selling missiles to countries such as Iran, Syria, and Pakistan.
Source: “How Kim Affords His Nukes,” Newsweek, May 30, 3009.
- No Comments » |May 31st, 2009
- Tags: arms trafficking, North Korea
7 million people in UK use illegal downloads
7 million people are estimated to access illegal downloads each year in the United Kingdom. These users access free materials that is valued at 12 billion British Pounds ($19 billion).
Half of all net traffic in the United Kingdom is for illegal downloads.
Source: “Seven million ‘use illegal files’”, BBC News, May 28, 2009.
- No Comments » |May 29th, 2009
- Tags: internet piracy, United Kingdom
Market value of Organized Crime: $322 Billion
According to the head of the United Nations Office on Crime and Drugs, organized crime groups worldwide had total assets of $322 Billion in 2005.
- No Comments » |May 29th, 2009
- Tags: organized crime
600 tons of cocaine leaves Colombia each year
An estimated 600 tons of cocaine is transported out of Colombia each year.
Source: “Oldest insurgent force marches on,” BBC News, May 27, 2009.
- No Comments » |May 27th, 2009
- Tags: cocaine, Colombia
135 organized crime groups in British Colombia
Law enforcement officials in Canada reported in the 2009 Integrated Threat Assessment on Organized Crime that there are 135 organized crime groups active in the province of British Colombia.
- No Comments » |May 27th, 2009
- Tags: Canada, organized crime
$1 billion out of $28.5 billion intercepted by law enforcement
According to a US Law Enforcement official, the drug business for Mexican cartels is estimated at $28.5 billion. Of this amount, only about $1 billion is intercepted by law enforcement.
- No Comments » |May 26th, 2009
- Tags: Mexico
Pregnant women being trafficked for their babies
A law enforcement official in Australia is stating that pregnant women are being trafficked for their babies.
According to Radio Australia service, the babies are being trafficked to be sold to international adoption agencies.
One of Australia’s senior law officers says more and more, smugglers are trading in pregnant women – the perfect incubators – for access to their newborns. Australia’s Chief Federal Magistrate John Pascoe is presenting a paper on the issue to the LawAsia conference in Singapore, which is looking at children and the law.
Source: “Pregnant women being trafficked for their babies,” ABC Radio Australia, May 25, 2009.
- No Comments » |May 25th, 2009
- Tags: Australia, human trafficking, international adoptions
Ransom payments to pirates difficult to track
Ransom payments made to pirates in Somalia are difficult to track due to the payments being made in cash, according to the BBC. An estimated $80 million in ransom payments are believed to have been laundered by organized crime syndicates in the Gulf region, but this has been denied by Gulf authorities.
The BBC also has a breakdown by the United Nations on how the ransom payments are distributed.
Although there is no universal set of rules, a UN report based on information gathered from pirates based in the north-eastern village of Eyl, reveals some interesting information about how the ransom spoils are divided:
• Maritime militia, pirates involved in actual hijacking – 30%
• Ground militia (armed groups who control the territory where the pirates are based) – 10%
• Local community (elders and local officials) – 10%
• Financier – 20%
• Sponsor – 30%
The UN report found the payments are shared virtually equally between the maritime militia, although the first pirate to board the ship gets a double share or a vehicle.
And compensation is paid to the family of any pirate killed during the operation.
Source: Mary Harper, Chasing the Somali piracy money trail,” BBC News, May 24, 2009.
- No Comments » |May 25th, 2009
- Tags: money laundering, pirates, Somalia
Over $7 million worth of smuggled cigarettes seized in Malaysia
The state of Selangor in Malaysia destroyed over $7 million (25 million Malaysian Ringgit) worth of smuggled cigarettes that was seized in 2008. The cigarettes were seized over 163 cases and represented a loss to the government of close to $28 million (100 million Malaysian Ringgit).
- No Comments » |May 25th, 2009
- Tags: cigarette smuggling, Malaysia
$616 million lost in Philippines to cigarette smuggling
The government of the Philippines loses up to $616 million (29 billion Philippine Peso) to cigarette smuggling activities.
A pack of Marlboros in the Philippines costs $0.50.
70 percent of all cigarettes sold in the Philippines are sold as “sticks,” which are cigarettes sold as individual units as opposed to packs.
Source: Chay Florentino Hoflena, “Philippines haven for cigarette smugglers,” ABS-CBN News, May 26, 2009.
- No Comments » |May 25th, 2009
- Tags: cigarette smuggling, Philippines

