Drug Trafficking at Sea is Devastating Island States
Quoting Solomon Times Online – 19 October 2018
“Ministers of island states call for help in tackling organised crime in the fishing industry, which they say is harming both the environment and human rights.
“Ministers from tiny island states including Palau, the Solomon Islands and Kiribati are calling for help over the “devastating” impacts of criminal networks in the fishing industry.
“Fishermen, unable to work because stocks are so low, are being lured into gun-running and drug trafficking by international organised crime, the small island nations’ officials told an industry conference in Copenhagen this week.
“Estimates of the scale of the problem varies, but the black market in marine wildlife including corals and reef fish in south-east Asia and the Pacific alone is worth US $850m (£625m), according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The actual costs of crime in the industry, which includes tax transgressions, human trafficking and other offences, is far greater.”
Copyright @ 2018, Solomon Times Online.
