CYBER MAFIA

GLOBALISATION and the latest information technologies, particularly the
Internet, have created a major challenge for developing effective
anti-drugs policies.

The International Narcotics Control Board, a specialised agency of the
United Nations, alerts governments "there is a real danger that the
benefits of new technologies might be seriously undermined by criminals for
illicit gain". Drug traffickers use the instantaneous communication of the
Internet to improve their distribution and delivery systems.

Internet technology allows them to hide information about illegal drug
shipments through encrypted messages, and online communications give them a
means to carry out electronic funds transfers, through which they can
launder their drug profits. In the Netherlands, some companies have
utilised the Internet to sell marijuana seeds and cannabis products worldwide.

British authorities have identified more than 1,000 web sites aimed at
selling illegal drugs, including marijuana, heroin, ecstasy and cocaine.

The drug cartels of Colombia and Mexico, meanwhile, have used cutting-edge
equipment to monitor those who are investigating them.

Drug traffickers are intercepting the communications of the anti-drug
agents and gathering photos and personal information about them. Anyone
browsing the Internet can obtain detailed information on the manufacture of
synthetic drugs and how to purchase the necessary equipment. Committing
crimes through digital technology requires only scant resources and the
danger for the criminal, or the chance to get caught, are minimal.

The UN board proposes confronting this form of cyber-crime through a
framework of international cooperation and surveillance. The 20 countries
that consume the most painkillers are in the industrialised world, such as
the United States, which consumes 40 per cent of the morphine used
worldwide for therapeutic purposes. The consumption of crack, a drug based
on cocaine paste, has expanded more rapidly than other drugs in South
Africa because it has the most accessible price.

Cocaine use, meanwhile, is on the rise in Angola and Namibia. New policies
are needed to reduce the demand for illegal drugs.