El crimen organizado está acostumbrado a ajustarse rápidamente a lo que representa un mundo globalizado y cambiante. Un escenario de emergencia como el generado por el COVID-19 está poniendo a prueba una vez más su capacidad de adaptación, por lo que quienes trabajamos por coartar sus capacidades debemos redoblar ahora nuestra vigilancia.

Roughly half of the global population is living under mobility restrictions, international border crossings have been closed and economic activity has declined drastically, as many countries have opted for the closure of nonessential businesses.

Drug trafficking relies heavily on legal trade to camouflage its activities and on individuals being able to distribute drugs to consumers. The measures implemented by Governments to counter the COVID19 pandemic have thus inevitably affected all aspects of the illegal drug markets, from the production and trafficking of drugs to their consumption.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international trade has led to a significant retraction in global commerce. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) estimates that worldwide merchandise trade will fall by up to 32% in 2020. This represents a clear loss to legitimate businesses, but also to organised crime groups (OCGs), who depend on high volumes of global trade to facilitate the illegal trafficking of goods and persons. These criminal networks manipulate the vulnerabilities of licit trade routes, exploiting opportunities to conceal their illegal activity in amongst the high volumes of products and services exchange in an increasingly globalised economy. With the emergence of COVID-19, illicit trade has also been severely affected, especially drug trafficking.

The COVID-19 pandemic is putting the world under enormous strain, affecting the lives of everyone. The unprecedented measures adopted to flatten the infection curve include enforced quarantine, curfews and lockdowns, travel restrictions, and limitations on economic activities and public life. While at first sight, these enforcement measures and increased police presence at the borders and on the streets seem to dissuade crime, they may also drive it further underground. In trafficking in persons, criminals are adjusting their business models to the ‘new normal’ created by the pandemic, especially through the abuse of modern communications technologies. At the same time, COVID-19 impacts the capacity of state authorities and non-governmental organizations to provide essential services to the victims of this crime. Most importantly, the pandemic has exacerbated and brought to the forefront the systemic and deeply entrenched economic and societal inequalities that are among the root causes of human trafficking.

Counterfeit goods sold during the corona crisis do not meet the required quality standards and pose a real threat to public health and safety. People who buy these fake products have a false sense of security, while they are in fact left unprotected against the virus. Therefore, we should not only go after the criminals behind these scams but also, through prevention work, inform potential victims who are putting themselves and others at risk by using such fake goods.

The relationship between catastrophes and organized crime is not straightforward, but past disasters can offer some clues. Especially in contexts marked by high levels of corruption, criminal groups reportedly have exploited crises to carry out extortion, embezzlement, diversion of aid, and other activities.

Cybercriminals have been among the most adept at exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic for the various scams and attacks they carry out. With a record number of potential victims staying at home and using online services across the European Union (EU) during the pandemic, the ways for cybercriminals seeking to exploit emerging opportunities and vulnerabilities have multiplied.

INTERPOL ha publicado unas directrices internacionales para mejorar la seguridad y la eficacia de la ayuda brindada por las fuerzas del orden y los equipos de primera intervención en el contexto de la pandemia de COVID-19.

Las directrices se han elaborado con arreglo a las buenas prácticas internacionales y a las recomendaciones de la Organización Mundial de la Salud. En ellas, los funcionarios encontrarán pautas sobre cómo protegerse a sí mismos y a sus familias, y un resumen de las distintas tareas que pueden llevar a cabo durante la pandemia.

The fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic is having profound impacts on society and the economy, and it will also influence and shape organized crime and illicit markets. The institutional response to the pandemic and the consequent reshaping of socio-economic norms worldwide will affect how criminal networks operate, as well as the nature of law-enforcement responses to them.

The realignment of state resources – in particular police services in responding to the virus – and the role of criminal groups, may have important influences on how such state services and groups evolve in the months to come. Vulnerable groups, such as people who use drugs or victims of human trafficking, may be particularly hard hit by the impact of the virus.

This brief is a result of information garnered from our networks and civil-society partners in the field, and draws from a comprehensive review of reporting on the impact of the coronavirus on criminal groups and illicit markets.