Commercial trade has expanded rapidly in Africa in
recent years. Many countries boast double-digit gross domestic product growth
driven by globalization, new technology and an expanding domestic middle class.
Ports, airports and highways are being built at a record pace on much of the
continent. However, this growth has a downside. Criminal syndicates, terrorists
and traffickers are taking advantage of legitimate commercial channels.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC),
transnational organized crime generates $1.5 trillion in profits globally each
year. Many of the most profitable trafficking routes cross Africa. Criminal
organizations flock to places with weak institutions and exacerbate corruption
by bribing officials. At its most dire, a nation can become what is called a
“captured state,” meaning traffickers or other private interests hold the power
rather than do the elected officials. Transnational
illicit activity on the continent ranges from drug trafficking to human
smuggling. Trafficked goods can include stolen vehicles, counterfeit medicine
and poached wildlife parts. All play a
role in destabilizing the state and siphoning wealth from the continent to
enrich criminals in other parts of the world.
According to the European Union-funded anti-organized crime group,
ENACT, trafficking in Africa takes three main forms. They are distinct but
interconnected. All of them are made worse by corruption and lack of
enforcement capacity.
Narcotics Trafficking
Africa is a transit point and a destination for
illegal drugs. Cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine are smuggled into African
ports, generally en route to users in Europe and the Middle East. Increasingly,
some of these drugs also are sold to African consumers, resulting in rising
levels of addiction
Human Smuggling
Masses of people are migrating in search of financial
opportunity and fleeing oppressive regimes. Although it is a journey that often
ends in tragedy, crime syndicates see a lucrative business opportunity and seek
to profit off this desperation. Sometimes traffickers simply charge money for
safe passage. In other instances, they trick migrants with promises of
employment, only to push them into forced labor or sex slavery.
Trafficking routes are ever-changing, but many of the
most heavily used are operated by organized criminal syndicates and extremist
groups. When these groups don’t operate the routes, they still may charge a fee
for protection. For instance, thousands of migrants pass through the city of
Agadez, Niger, on their way to Libya and then Europe. They pay bribes and fees
along the way totaling $800 to $1,000 per person. Much of this money ends up
fueling extremist groups and international crime. A UNODC study found that 2.5
million migrants were smuggled in 2016, generating an income of $7 billion for
smugglers. (ADF STAFF/REUTERS)
There are three primary routes, according to the
UNODC:
The Western African route from Senegal,
Mauritania and Morocco to the Spanish Canary Islands.
The Western Mediterranean route from Morocco or
Algeria to Spain.
The Central Mediterranean route, principally
from Libya to Italy.
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