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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Nimo Omer

Monday briefing: The cocaine trade is booming – and with it violence, trafficking and smuggling

A composite image of bricks of cocaine, a pile of the drug and a child caught up in the illegal trade.
A composite image of bricks of cocaine, a pile of the drug and a child caught up in the illegal trade. Composite: Guardian

Good morning.

The devastating human and environmental cost of cocaine production is well known and well documented. For decades, the industry has been run by gangs that wreak havoc and violence on local communities in cocaine producing countries and anywhere it is dealt. The problem is only getting worse, as demand for the drug in Europe has exploded in recent years, making international drug trafficking more efficient than ever – gangs are smuggling in cocaine in submarines, luxury yachts and private jets.

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