‘Crime groups wielding influence in Southeast Asia’

MANILA, Philippines — Organized crime groups in Southeast Asia now wield unprecedented influence and control over multibillion dollar “industries,” a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report said.

Titled “Transnational Organized Crime in Southeast Asia: Evolution, Growth and Impact,” the report, which is the most comprehensive study of organized crime in Southeast Asia by the UN in over five years, said Southeast Asia is particularly “vulnerable to the reach and influence of organized crime groups.” 

It added that threats arising from transnational organized crime are becoming more deeply integrated within the region itself, as well as with neighboring and connected regions.

Southeast Asia, it claimed, now plays a major role in the regional and global trade in synthetic drugs, that include methamphetamine and heroin, people, wildlife, timber and counterfeit goods and medicines. 

The report also said that the displacement of organized crime groups from neighboring countries and regions coincided with a significant shift in the regional drug market marked by a massive expansion of methamphetamine, particularly emanating from northern Myanmar, with trafficking networks shipping the supply across Southeast Asia and to more distant and lucrative markets. 

It also highlighted corruption and money laundering through casinos as significant challenges for the region.