Drug smuggling

Precautions and Safety Measures to Curb Drug Trafficking Onboard Ships

Big money comes with big business, and Drug Trafficking is big business with international complexities. It is said to be among the most serious crimes of our times. And as a matter of fact, merchant shipping has inadvertently played an unfortunate role in the hauling of the illicit drugs over the years.

Soaring volumes of drugs have been trafficked by sea because of favouring circumstances for transportation from producers to consumer regions around the world. There’s no sign that these illegal drug markets are even remotely saturated, as trade and commercial traffic continues its expansion. Of late, there has been a rise in the number of reported incidents involving drug discoveries on ships calling South American ports and ships bound for US or European ports, but the fact remains that there are no shipping routes which could be considered safe.

The other thing to look into is that even after massive arrests and seizures in the recent times, the availability of these illicit items has never been short nor its industry has ever seen a recession. Merchant seafarers are looked upon as accomplices by professional drug traffickers. They are frequently targeted by people who want the logistics to be handled by the seamen. Sadly, our seafarers are not fully aware of the catastrophic consequences involved.