The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) says police must stay on top of new drug trafficking trends as criminals become more creative.
On its official website, INTERPOL noted that criminals are producing new synthetic drugs and finding new trafficking routes.
According to the organisation, criminal networks traffic a range of drugs, including cannabis, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.
It noted that as international borders become increasingly porous, global abuse and accessibility to drugs have become increasingly widespread.
In addition, INTERPOL explained that the international drugs trade involves growers, producers, couriers, suppliers, and dealers, affecting almost all the organisation’s member countries, undermining political and economic stability, ruining individuals’ lives, and damaging communities.
“Drug trafficking is often associated with other forms of crime, such as money laundering or corruption,” INTERPOL stated.
It also disclosed that criminals could use trafficking routes to transport other illicit products.
“As criminals devise ever-more creative ways of disguising illegal drugs for transport, law enforcement faces challenges in detecting such concealed substances,” INTERPOL stated.
“New synthetic drugs are produced with regularity, so police need to always be aware of new trends and products on the illicit market,” the international law-enforcement organisation comprising 194 member countries said.