Crossroads of crime: drug trafficking networks in the Indian Ocean

More than 70 percent of the earth is covered by oceans, which play a significant role in climate change, war, geopolitics, and maritime security. Most crimes, including illegal fishing, human, arms, and drug trafficking, and pirate attacks, take place in the oceans. Home to an incredible variety of marine flora and fauna, the Indian Ocean is also home to many trade routes that support economies across the world. The Indian Ocean serves as an access point for major water routes such as the Suez Canal, Cape of Good Hope, Red Sea, and Strait of Malacca. Many industry-supporting goods are constantly shipped across the globe through the Indian Ocean. Mineral resources such as iron ore and energy resources such as coal and plantation crops namely rubber and tea are some of the major commodities transported through the Indian Ocean. India, Australia, and Africa are the largest exporters of iron and coal, and this mineral is largely sourced from the Japanese archipelago. Coal is exported from Australia to the United Kingdom through this great ocean. Petroleum and other minerals like manganese, chromite, etc. are also mined in this ocean. This ocean accounts for around 13% of the total trade in the world. The Indian Ocean is not only an important part of international waterborne trade, it is also a site for rampant drug trafficking and many other illegal activities involving the trafficking of a variety of narcotics and other contraband items and the increase in such activities in the waters poses a major threat to many countries bordering the Indian Ocean.

Why the Indian Ocean?

The Indian Ocean is “favorable” for these activities because it is part of the international maritime waters over which no state or party has authority except for a stretch of a few nautical miles for each country from its borders that is in contact with the ocean under the Convention on the Law of the Sea. This makes it difficult to establish specific control over the region, apart from some maritime laws agreed upon by all international parties. However, due to the lack of permanent controls and the difficulties posed by such unstable waters, complete, flawless control of the ocean is virtually impossible, leading to cracks in the system and many activities such as piracy, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, arms trafficking, human trafficking and most prevalent drug trafficking. Smugglers exploit these cracks in the system to rapidly smuggle drugs back and forth between different countries, not only between the countries bordering the Indian Ocean but between many countries around the world connected by various waterways.

The Indian Ocean geographically borders three continents – Asia, Africa and Australia – and provides access to countries in these regions. Although the coast guard is responsible for controlling the high volume of traffic in the Indian Ocean, checking each and every vessel is either technically not feasible or requires strict measures such as arresting those responsible, as it creates jurisdictional issues and leaves the coast guards with no choice but to confiscate their goods.

Important smuggling routes

The main drug producing regions are part of the 'smack tracks', the routes or pathways along which heroin is smuggled. They remain a crucial part of drug exports, especially from the Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle countries, and are smuggled from there to other countries.

Golden Crescent: This is the name given to one of the epicenters of illicit opiate production. The countries that fall under this category are Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. Afghanistan and Pakistan play the role of major drug producers in this region and Iran acts as a dispersal area from where the contraband is smuggled to different parts of the world. This smuggling occurs mainly through three routes – the Balkan route which runs through Central and Western Europe via the Islamic Republic of Iran and Turkey, the Southern route which extends through Pakistan and Iran to the Gulf region, Africa and South Asia and the Northern route which runs through Central Asia to the Russian Federation and Eastern Europe.

According to reports, around 60-70% of the contraband entering India by sea can be traced to the Golden Crescent route. In 2021, over 3,000 kg of illicit drugs from Afghanistan were seized at Mundra port in Gujarat, making it the largest drug bust in India.

Golden Triangle: The The area consists of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos. In this region, Myanmar is currently the sole and main producer of opium and other opiates. While Thailand has almost completely stopped opium production, opium is still grown in Laos, although on a smaller scale than in Myanmar. The Burmese region is one of the largest producers of opium and heroin as well as synthetic drugs and exports to other parts of the world.

Since the military in Myanmar overthrew the government and established military rule, the production of opiates in the state has increased as many citizens are almost forced to become part of the production system again as there is no other way for them to earn a living that is as lucrative as drug trafficking. There has also been a significant increase in the production of such contraband by organized crime gangs as it is just a means of expanding their businesses and the lack of proper public order in the country amidst all this political instability gives them a free hand to carry out their illegal activities without much restriction. They are also infiltrating other states where instability, chaos and war-torn borders prevail.

Countermeasures

Governments around the Indian Ocean have formed partnerships and collaborations to combat illicit drug trafficking in the sea through various agreements and enforcement of laws. Regional organizations such as the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) recognize the importance of tackling and resolving non-traditional security issues such as drug trafficking through strategic cooperation, enforcement of protocols and strengthening information sharing among member states. Another practical measure they are considering is seizing the vessels carrying the narcotics and transiting through the Indian Ocean. The UNODC, the acronym for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, under its Global Maritime Programme organizes the annual Southern Route Partnership Meeting, a collaborative forum for Indian Ocean Rim countries and other international partners to develop strategies, plans and protocols to combat drug trafficking in the Indian Ocean. The Southern Route Partnership was established under the Indian Ocean Forum on Maritime Crime (IOFMC) and provides a platform that promotes global cooperation and coordination between national drug enforcement agencies, international organizations and other parties in the Indian Ocean. UNODC also supports countries in the region to improve judicial processes and prosecution of drug trafficking by conducting simulated trials and providing in-country mentoring. In addition, the Indian Coast Guard has been granted authority under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act to intervene in drug trafficking at sea.

Diploma

The drug trade will not stop functioning as long as there is demand. If people need the goods that these organizations produce, it is enough incentive for the producers to trade in such narcotics and exploit the vulnerabilities of the people affected. The protocols and agreements of the governments at the Indian Ocean border are a step in the right direction to curb the number of narcotics transported through the oceans, but this alone will not be enough. It is also very important to spread information and awareness about the after effects and serious health problems caused by such narcotics. The lack of people's need for contraband cuts off the consumer side of this entire trade cycle.

Cooperation between states, helping victims of drug abuse rather than isolating them, and providing comprehensive infrastructure and support for their rehabilitation from such substances of abuse will bring about the necessary changes in the fight against drugs. Drugs and narcotics are not a problem that affects only individuals, but countries and the whole world. Therefore, cooperation is crucial to curb the spread of drug trafficking and to eradicate it.