Europe's EUR 24 bn illegal drug market a 'key threat' to security
Illegal drugs - Photo by DEA
(BRUSSELS) - EU citizens spend more than 24 billion euros ($27.3 billion) every year on illegal drugs such as cannabis and heroin, a European watchdog said Tuesday, warning of links between the trade and terrorism.
"The impacts that drug markets have on society are correspondingly large and go beyond the harms caused by drug use," said the report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).
"They include involvement in other types of criminal activities and in terrorism."
The report says "many" people involved in jihadist attacks, "often recently radicalised young people, may have a history of low-level criminality, including drug use or involvement in the drug market, and exploit their criminal links to conduct their terrorist activities in a range of ways".
The paper was jointly presented on Tuesday by Dimitris Avramopoulos, the European commissioner for migration, home affairs and citizenship, EMCDDA chief Alexis Goosdeel and Europol director Rob Wainwright.
"Illicit drug markets remain one of the key threats to the security of the EU," the report said, adding: "The drug market is essentially driven by two simple motives: profit and power."
The report said drug markets are among "the most profitable areas for organised crime groups", with EU citizens spending more than 24 billion euros per year on illicit drugs.
It warned of "significant information gaps (arising from) the functional separation and specialisation of those involved in tackling terrorism and drugs, (with) some links being overlooked."
Citing the most recent available figures, it said cannabis led in 2013 with 38 percent of the market, followed by heroin at 28 percent, cocaine at 24 percent, amphetamines at 8.0 percent and ecstasy at 3.0 percent.
After several years that saw a drop in the amount of heroin seized mainly from Turkish, Albanian-speaking and Pakistani crime syndicates, supply picked up in 2013 while street prices decreased, it said.
The report estimated the number of heroin users at 1.3 million in Europe.
Wholesale importation of cocaine into Europe, with some 3.6 million users, remains dominated by Colombian and Italian groups, although Nigerian and Balkan dealers are gaining a foothold.
Cocaine dealers "not only use corrupt lawyers and accountants... but are believed to engage in the systematic recruitment of corrupt workers at all major seaports and airports in the EU," the report said.
It listed cocaine smuggling in maritime containers as "a major threat".
EU Drug Markets Report 2016 - EMCDDA