An estimated 20,000 people were working in the smuggling tunnels of Gaza in June 2010.

Source:  Associated Press, “Ordinary Gazans hurt most by 3-year blockade,” Google News, June 11, 2010.

An estimated 110 tons of marijuana is trafficked into Israel each year.

Source:  Seth Freedman, “Israel’s weed shortage is a blessing,” Guardian, May 15, 2010.

Below are music piracy losses in 2009 for selected countries. The figures are from the International Intellectual Property Alliance.

Source: “IIPA 2010 “Special 301 Recommendations,” International Intellectual Property Alliance, February 18, 2010.

From the 1990s to the late 2000s, around 25,000 gold and bronze coins were discovered buried in the Gaza Strip. Out of the 25,000 coins, an estimated 14,000, or 60 percent, were stolen or sold to black market dealers.

Source:  Erin Cunningham, “Gaza Strip moves to preserve its abundant ancient treasure,” Christian Science Monitor, April 24, 2010.

In 2008, authorities in Israel reported 78 cases of counterfeit drugs within the country.

The 78 cases of fake drugs represented $26 Million (100 Million Israeli Shekels).

Source: Ronny Linder-Ganz, “Israel ranks high in counterfeit pharmaceutical trade ,” Haaretz, July 17, 2009.

According to Task Force on Human Trafficking (TFHT) in Israel, Israeli men visit brothels in the country up to one millions times a month.  This high demand for sex previously had led to the importation of trafficked foreign women to work in the brothels.  As Israel law enforcement cuts down on foreign trafficking, the task force claims that domestic trafficking of Israeli women is occurring to meet the demand.

Source: Michal Zebede, “Traffickers target Israeli girls to replace foreign sex slaves,” Haaretz, August 16, 2009.

The illicit sex trade in Israel is estimated to be worth $2 billion dollars.

Source:  Rita Chaikin, “Fighting against Trafficking in Women in the North of Israel,” Trafficking and the Global Sex Industry, ed. Karen Beeks and Delila Amir, 2006. Page 201.

According to the Israel Anti-drug Authority, the illegal drugs market in Israel is valued at $1.5 billion (6 billion shekels) a year.

Source:  “Overview of the drug situation in Israel,” Israel Anti-drug Authority, accessed: July 31, 2009.