According to the Chairman of the Pharma Bureau in Pakistan, the pharmaceutical market in the country is worth $2 Billion year. Out of the total legitimate market, counterfeit drugs is estimated to take up to 15 percent of the market, or $300 Million a year.
The 15 percent estimate of fake drugs in Pakistan by industry representatives is lower than the 30 to 40 percent estimate given by the World Health Organization in 2012.
Source: Farhan Zaheer, “Country badly needs a study to assess threat from fake drugs,” Express Tribune, May 20, 2013.
In March 2013, diesel smugglers in Pakistan were selling a liter of fuel in $1.06 (104 Pakistani Rupee), less than the official price of $1.14 (112 Rupee). The fuel was smuggled into the black market from Iran.
Traders of the black market diesel estimated between 100 to 130 fuel tankers that each hold between 25,000 to 40,000 liters of fuel are smuggled from Iran to Pakistan or Afghanistan each day.
Source: Hamdan Albaloshi, “FEATURE-Iran sanctions spur boom for Pakistani diesel smugglers,” Reuters, March 31, 2013.
23.5 Billion illegal cigarettes were smoked in Pakistan in 2012. Illegal tobacco consists of cigarettes that avoided tax payments, were smuggled into the country, or were counterfeits.
Tobacco taxes in Pakistan make up 68.5 to 81 percent of the retail price of a pack of cigarettes.
Source: Javed Mirza, “Illicit cigarette trade to cost Rs100 billion to exchequer,” The News (Pakistan), March 19, 2013.
The Chairman of Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau stated that corruption and tax evasion activities in Pakistan causes a total loss of $102 Million to $122 Million (10 Billion to 12 Billion Pakistani Rupee) every day.
Source: “NAB claims corruption amounts to Rs10-12 billion daily in Pakistan,” News Pakistan, December 13, 2012.
The Government of Pakistan is losing up to $80 Million a year due to the smuggling of used tires from India and China.
In 2010, smuggled tires in Pakistan consisted of 20 percent of the total passenger car tire market, while imported tires stood at 37 percent and domestic tires at 43 percent. Smuggled tires made up 52 percent of the light truck market, and 47 percent of the trucks/buses tire market.
The used tires end up in Pakistan because China and India dump scrap materials in bulk in Pakistan.
Source: Hina Mahgul Rind, “‘Smuggling of tyres causes annual losses worth $80m’,” News International, October 11, 2012.
There were about 7,000 reported cases of kidnappings in Pakistan in 2011, with 3,090 kidnapping occurring in the city of Karachi.
The Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child, a Pakistani child advocacy organization, stated that Pakistan is one of the world’s five most dangerous countries for kidnappings.
Source: Michele Langevine Leiby, “Pakistan a dismal place to be a kid, report finds,” Washington Post, September 24, 2012.
Shopkeepers in the Pakistani town of Bara purchase kilograms of marijuana at prices between $530 to $690 (50,000 to 60,00 Pakistani Rupees). The price of a kilogram of marijuana increased in 2012 from the previous price of $200 (20,000 Rupees) due to violent conflicts between militants in the valley region.
Militants who set up checkpoints skim off $21 (2,00 Rupees) per kilogram of marijuana from smugglers. The smugglers themselves are able to make $52 (5,000 Rupees) per kilo, while the shopkeepers make $105 (10,000 Rupees) per kilogram of marijuana.
(See more cannabis prices from around the world)
Source: Associated Press, “Pakistan conflict fuelling marijuana boom,” Sunday Times, September 9, 2012.
Migrants from Pakistan who attempt to illegally enter the United States reportedly pay human smugglers between $18,000 to $26,000 to be smuggled into the US via Bangkok.
In the first half of the 2000s, migrants were paying smugglers $13,500 to be smuggled into the United Kingdom.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, most Pakistanis who are smuggled out of the country are single men who are 30 year old.
Source: “Migrant Smuggling in Asia: A Thematic Review of Literature,” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, August 2012.
An artifact smuggler working out of Pakistan stated that he is able to sell a Buddha statue weighing between 40 to 80 kilograms for $20,000 on the global black market.
While digging, the smuggler says that he pays the local police station a bribe of $106 (10,000 Pakistani Rupees) as an advance, and $10.62 (1,000 Rupees) for each day of digging.
Source: AFP, “Millionaires unveil Pakistan’s artefact smuggling secrets,” DAWN, August 9, 2012.
In 2011, between 210 tons to 240 tons of Afghan heroin was smuggled though Pakistan on its way to the global drug market. The amount of heroin that was moved through Pakistan represented 35 to 40 percent of the total heroin produced in Afghanistan in 2011, and was worth between $25 and $30 Billion.
Around 25 percent of Afghan heroin was smuggled though Northern routes on its way to Russia.
Source: “‘Over 200 tonnes of heroin is smuggled via Pakistan a year’,” Dawn, July 5, 2012.
