United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
Coverage of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in the Nexus archive.
- Criminal gangs increasingly lure people to work in online scam centers, UN migration agency warns
The UN's migration agency warns that criminal networks are trafficking hundreds of thousands of people, including educated English speakers, into online scam centers via fake job ads. Victims are forced to participate in scams through violence, threats, and debt bondage, with losses in East Asia, Australia, and New Zealand reaching $114 billion last year.
- International criminal groups use technology to expand in and beyond Asia, UN report says
A UN report reveals Southeast Asia-based criminal groups use integrated networks and technology to expand an illicit economy, with scams projected to cause $88.3B to $114.1B in losses by 2025. The report highlights AI-driven child exploitation, drug trafficking, and money laundering, as well as expanded transnational crime networks reaching beyond Asia.
- International criminal groups use technology to expand in and beyond Asia, UN report says
A UN report reveals Southeast Asia-based criminal groups are leveraging technology to expand an illicit economy with global reach, causing estimated $88.3–$114.1 billion in scam-related losses by 2025. The report highlights risks to children from AI-generated child sexual abuse content, online gaming, and sex trafficking, alongside growing drug, wildlife, and human trafficking networks in Asia and beyond.
- International criminal groups use technology to expand in and beyond Asia, UN report says
Southeast Asia-based criminal groups are using integrated networks and technology to expand illicit activities globally, with scams projected to cause $88.3–$114.1 billion in losses by 2025. A UN report highlights threats to children via AI-generated abuse content, online gaming, and sex trafficking, alongside expanding drug, wildlife, and human trafficking in Asia.
- International criminal groups use technology to expand in and beyond Asia, UN report says
The UN report highlights how Southeast Asia-based criminal groups use technology to expand their illicit economy, causing up to $114.1 billion in scam losses by 2025, and increasing threats to children through AI and online exploitation, alongside expanding drug and wildlife trafficking in Asia and beyond.
- Super-Potent Synthetic Opioids Spread Across US Amid Fentanyl Crackdown
Ashley Delgado died in 2023 from an overdose involving nitazenes, synthetic opioids up to 40 times more potent than fentanyl. These drugs, often laced into other substances, are spreading across the US despite DEA efforts to combat them.