Police data shows a 28 percent increase year-over-year in home break-ins and a 7 percent increase in automotive thefts. At the same time, the suburb is experiencing a decrease in violent and sexual crimes.

The reason for this trade-off in crimes: drug addicts need a way to fund their habit. Break-ins and automotive thefts are resulting in electrical goods stolen for their secondary market value. Unemployed 18 to 30-year olds are committing the crimes while also fighting a drug addiction.

For those who are fighting the crime, the problem that is thwarting these individuals is the fact that most of these crimes are taking place after dark and lack forensic evidence to point to the guilty party.

Citizens in the area are asked to help fight the crime wave with preventative measures. Police forces recommend they increase household security, add burglar alarms and keep valuables in cars out of plain sight.

As the number of addicted individuals continues to rise in the area, law enforcement is continuing to battle crime, especially in areas where petty thefts did not tend to occur. The more diligent citizens are in assuming their belongings are at risk and taking the necessary preventatives steps, the more likely they are to help turn the tide.
 

One UN expert noted that the growth was concentrated in areas where ethnic rebels are being intensely pressured from the junta just before rare elections are set to take place. A representative for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Gary Lewis, cited the rapid increase is drug activity.

According to Lewis, there were 23 million methamphetamine tablets seized in the military-ruled country last year. In 2008, only 1 million tablets were seized. While such numbers appeared to represent improved crime prevention, Lewis said the increase reflects a surge in production instead.

Opium production is also a key focus for UN drug leaders as the country has experienced a steep and dramatic increase in the cultivation of the substance. Last year, 78,300 acres of land were set aside for illicit poppy growing, a nearly 50 percent increase since 2006.

Those trying to battle drug production believe it is being fuelled by insurgent groups and by the chronic poverty and food shortages facing a number of communities. The poppy cultivation and the significant hauls of methamphetamine are concentrated in Myanmar’s Shan State, representing a nexus of money, weapons and drugs.

Interestingly, even with greater growing areas, the actual opium production in Myanmar was only slightly increased over 2006 as yields have proven to be weak. And, while poppy cultivation has demonstrated a drastic decline over the last 20 years, there has been a recent spike in production of amphetamine-type drugs, which are easier to product in small and hidden laboratories.

Marzia was often alone while her husband ran drugs and friends introduced her to heroin to numb the pain and calm her nerves while her husband was away. The family lived in Iran for seven years and drugs were easy to come by for a smuggler’s wife.

Today, Marzia is back in Afghanistan trying to kick her habit. Her husband has already married a second wife and is threatening to leave Marzia if she cannot kick her habit. As she puts it plainly: “It’s shameful to be addicted and shameful if he leaves me, that is why I am here.”

Marzia is seeking help at the Sanga Amaj rehabilitation center for the second time in a year. More than 20 women receiving treatment at any time at the center are cared for by two doctors and four nurses. The center supports an additional six social workers who go out into the community to care for women in the home.

Since the center opened in 2007, more than 850 women have received treatment in the 45-day program. According to Muhammad Zafar, deputy minister of counter narcotics, those needing treatment are primarily Afghans returning from Iran and Pakistan.

More than 90 percent of the world’s opium and heroin comes from the poppy fields of Afghanistan and much of it is transported through Pakistan and Iran into Europe by way of the Balkans. Much of the country’s drug problem is fueled by the difficulty in offering an alternative cash crop to impoverished farmers.
 

According to a recent AP report, Paraguay is facing this exact dilemma – vast stretches of territory that has become a breeding ground for violence. Drug traffickers know how far out they need to go beyond the reach of police, leaving leftist guerillas access to drug-trafficking cash to fund an ongoing war on wealthy landowners.

It is said that as much as 40 tons of Andean cocaine and 15 percent of the world’s marijuana move through Paraguay every year, according to drug control reports from the U.S. and the U.N. President Fernando Lugo blames his tiny national budget and little help from vested interests for the failure to control the flow of drugs through the country.

Lugo is fighting more than just the drug lords and leftist guerillas. He must also confront the Paraguayan People’s Army. This increasingly violent band of guerillas can now use drug trafficking to finance their war – financing that exceeds the government fund by millions.

To try and turn the tide, Lugo is leaning on the president of Brazil. This South American country is considered an economic powerhouse, where citizens have become major drug consumers. Organized crime gangs are increasingly using violent tactics to control the transport of drugs along the Brazil-Paraguay border that has no natural boundaries or regular police presence.

Whether or not the two leaders will be able to make a dent in the drug trade or associated violence is yet to be seen. The challenges facing them are great and only time will tell if their partnership will deliver results.
 

A recent news report tells of a man nabbed by European police after he allegedly carried 2kg of cannabis traced by Dubai customs officers. The stash was discovered during the routine X-ray inspection at the Dubai Cargo Village.

The package aroused suspicion when it arrived in Dubai from Africa, yet the desired destination was an unknown European destination. Once inspected by a custom official, it was discovered that the packet was wrapped in such a way that it misrepresented the intentions of the person associated with the package.

In coordinating with the Anti-Drug Department at Dubai Police Headquarters and with their European counterparts, the customs officials were able to arrest the person for further interrogation and investigation.

This particular package continued packets of the drug wrapped in a parcel of sponge and plastic and the Sniffer dogs had no trouble tracing the suspicious material inside the packets. Customs officials then conducted regular tests at the mobile testing units and found 2 Kilos of cannabis wrapped inside the packets.

Mohammed Mater Al Mari, Executive Director of Cargo Operations at Dubai Customs said, "Cooperation in exchanging information in connection with such shipment was made as well with another European capital city to which the drugs shipment was destining, after leaving Dubai and before landing at its final destination where the owner was waiting."

A recent JPost article shows that Taliban forces and Afghan drug lords are facing opposition from a number of sides as Iranian forces are massing along the border in the south and the large-scale allied offensive is closing in from the north.

“The message is clear,” said Antoni Maria Costa, executive director of the Untied Nation’s Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in the JPost. “In order to further reduce the biggest source of the world’s deadliest drug, there must be better security, development and governance in Afghanistan.”

According to Prof. Sultan Barakat, Head of the Postwar Reconstruction and Development Unit at the University of York, the matter needed to be thought of within its international context.

“It must be recognized that both Iran and Pakistan have the potential to influence the trajectory of stabilization in Afghanistan significantly,” Barakat told The Media Line. “The economic interests of all neighboring countries, China included, need to be seriously considered and their incentives understood.”

He added that from these countries’ perspectives, military expansion of coalition forces could be seen as a direct threat – especially in the case of Iran in particular. The offensive this week by 15,000 U.S., British and Afghan government forces marks the largest ever assault against Taliban insurgents since the way began in 2001.

These forces are currently targeting the cities of Marjah and Nad Ali in the southern Helmand province. This is known to be a Taliban stronghold and a major drug producing area. One secondary goal of the offensive is to disrupt the large-scale opium trade that is estimated to make up 87 to 93 percent of the worldwide market and finance Taliban rule.
 

As Afghanistan is the center of the world’s narcotics production, its proximity to Iran ensures its activities directly affect the country, especially as Iran offers the shortest drug trafficking route from Afghanistan to the rest of the world.

The country of Iran is now in its third year of joining forces with Afghanistan, Pakistan and the UNODC to find common points of view. Given the political situations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, it is impossible to achieve set goals.

Ahmadi-Moqaddam noted that since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, there has been a worrying rise in narc

otics production in Afghanistan. In their final year of power, the Taliban reduced production of narcotics in Afghanistan to 200 tons to improve their global image. Today, this production has reached between 8,000 and 9,000 tons.

According to Mr. Antonio Maria Costa, the Secretary General of the UNODC, narcotics production in Afghanistan has been reduced
by roughly 6 percent. Iran’s findings, however, suggest an increase instead of a reduction.

When speaking on the subject of addiction and abuse, Ahmadi-Moqaddam noted that in the past, Iran took a one-dimensional approach and that was fighting supply – an assumption that suggested no supply, no addict. While this fight still continues, the country is now taking a more focused look at treating addiction.

When asked about the UNODC and their impact on the fight against drug trafficking, Ahmadi-Moqaddam noted that while this agency is responsible for fighting crime and narcotic drugs, this is the right venue for regional and International cooperation. He also said that the pomp and circumstance should not matter as much as setting practical steps and delivering on meaningful guarantees.

In an English Fars News report, Hossein-Abadi pointed to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) which mentioned that 12,000 tons of illicit drugs have already been stockpiled.

"Given an additional production of another 6,900 tons of illicit drugs (in Afghanistan), we will certainly be faced with a fully dangerous situation, specially in the region," Hossein-Abadi said.

The remarks were made at a round table in Tehran. The point of the discussion was to review ways to prevent, treat, comfort and decrease vulnerability to addiction and to effectively rehabilitate addicts.

Hossein-Abadi reminded the round table group that those countries used as a transit route for drug trafficking are facing a significant hazard. As Iran les beside the largest producer of opium poppy in the world, Iran is facing much greater danger than surrounding states.

He also highlighted that Iranian police have been successful in discovering illicit drugs and more than two-thirds of Afghan opium transit is discovered in Iran. The anti-squad police squads have discovered 50 tons of drugs at the country’s borders during the last 11 months.

According to international standards, police tend to discover only 10 percent of drug cargoes moving through an area. In Iran, police forces have discovered volumes that are three times more than what is accepted as the norm internationally.

The Iranian government spends hundreds of millions of dollars each year to erect barriers along the borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan. It also continues to pump resources into checkpoints. These efforts, in addition to the battle against drug addiction, cost the Iranian government $1 billion a year.
 

Speaking at the European Serious Organized Crime conference, Woolas made it clear that migrants coming to the UK enter into a deal to play by the rules. Those overseas criminals who break the pact and cause damage to local communities will face the full wrath of the UKBA officers, who will use immigration powers to tackle them.

Phil Woolas said, as quoted in The Gov Monitor, “Smugglers, forgers, traffickers be warned – the UK is a hostile environment. You will be targeted, you will be caught and immigration powers can and will be used to prosecute you and remove you from the country.

“The UK Border Agency is responding to local community needs as a law enforcement agency. Our borders are stronger than ever and frontline immigration staff work collaboratively with police, local authorities and government agencies to target and disband immigration crime that preys on vulnerable individuals.”

The UKBA has a five-year strategy: ‘Protecting our Border, Protecting the Public’. This strategy sets out the organization’s approach at home and abroad to prevent crime as well as detect and target criminals who seek to abuse the immigration system.

Actions taken include electronic e-border checks; a freight targeting system; the provision of detection technology and training to other countries; UKBA officers stationed around the world; the joining of the fraud prevention agency CIFAS; identifying potential victims of trafficking; and seizing illicit drugs, dangerous weapons and pirated goods.
 

The UK’s Echo News posted a report citing one brewery boss who believes labeling is not the answer. James Partridge, of the Crouch Vale Brewery, in South Woodham Ferrers, said: “Our products have the mandatory facts on them, such as the number of units they contain, the volume, and what’s inside.

We also have a bit of a blurb describing the tasting notes for the product, plus allergy and contact information. We would trust our customers to be fully informed of the health risks of drinking. The Government is applying a very broad brush to an industry that is extremely broad itself.”

A report for the Department of Health showed that just 15 percent of drinks actually provide enough information and health warnings, despite a voluntary agreement between the drinks industry and the government in 2007. The industry now faces the potential of mandatory labeling.

Partridge believes the approach should be in changing parental attitudes, not the drinks industry. He notes that the typical 16 year old does not buy eight bottles of real ale, but instead goes for the strong, cheaper products. Targeting companies such as his misses the point, he says.

According to Basildon and East Thurrock MP Angela Smith, any labeling should focus on the units system. “One thing people need to understand is how long it takes for a unit to pass through the body. It is difficult because it’s not an exact science, and it does depend on different factors for different people. Most people want that information and want to make those decisions themselves.”