United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime raises awareness of drug trafficking
Launches a global campaign in Times Square, New York
A new global campaign by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) aims to raise awareness of the annual US$250bn illegal trafficking of counterfeit goods. The campaign – ‘Counterfeit: Don’t buy into organised crime’ – informs consumers that buying counterfeit goods could be funding criminal groups, puts consumer health and safety at risk and contributes to other ethical and environmental concerns.
The campaign was centred on a Public Service Announcement recently launched on the NASDAQ screen in New York’s Times Square and aired on several international television stations during January. The campaign urges consumers to ‘look behind’ counterfeit goods to boost understanding of the serious repercussions of this illicit trade.
UNODC says the illicit trafficking and sale of counterfeit goods provides criminals with a significant source of income and facilitates the laundering of other illicit proceeds. Additionally, money received from the sale of counterfeit products can be channelled towards the further production of fake goods or other unlawful activities.
Fraudulent medicines also present a serious health risk to consumers. Criminal activity in this area is big business: the sale of fraudulent medicines from East Asia and the Pacific to South-East Asia and Africa alone amounts to some $5bn each year. At the very least, fraudulent medicines have been found to contain no active ingredients, while at their worst they can contain unknown and potentially harmful chemicals. The list of fraudulent medicines is extensive, and can range from ordinary painkillers and antihistamines, to ‘lifestyle’ medicines, such as those taken for weight loss and sexual dysfunction, to life-saving medicines including those for the treatment of cancer and heart disease.
The illicit trafficking and sale of counterfeit goods provides criminals with a significant source of income
Labour exploitation is also an aspect of producing counterfeit goods, with low-paid workers facing safety and security concerns with few or no benefits and unregulated conditions.
The problem of migrant smuggling is also exacerbated by the counterfeit business, with reports that a number of those smuggled are coerced into selling counterfeit goods to pay off smuggling debts.
UNODC’s Executive Director Yury Fedotov commented: 'In comparison with other crimes such as drug trafficking, the production and distribution of counterfeit goods present a low-risk/high-profit opportunity for criminals. Counterfeiting feeds money laundering activities and encourages corruption. There is also evidence of some involvement or overlap with drug trafficking and other serious crimes.'
Criminal groups use similar routes and methods to move counterfeit goods as they do to smuggle illicit drugs, firearms and people. In 2013, the joint UNODC/World Customs Organisation Container Control Programme (CCP) detected counterfeit goods in more than one-third of the seized containers, despite being set up initially to intercept drugs.
