Alessandro Scotti: UNODC Goodwill Ambassador

Italian photographer Alessandro Scotti started reporting on the global drug problem four years ago. Since then, he has taken thousands of pictures that depict realistically the people and countries affected by the illegal drug trade. As a UNODC Goodwill Ambassador, Mr. Scotti will continue to increase the general public's understanding of the drug phenomenon.

The images captured by Mr. Scotti transmit a powerful message of compassion. In the words of UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa, "His talent has transformed the tragic plight of a few into a global campaign against narco-trafficking. He shows us the face of addiction, exploitation and physical suffering, and challenges us to respond."

During his service as Goodwill Ambassador, Mr. Scotti will complete a three-volume project entitled "De Narcoticis," which is designed to build a visual map of international drug routes. The first of these photography books, published in 2004, focuses on Colombia. Based on the photographer's in-depth research, the book takes a comprehensive look at all aspects of the narcotics trade, including cultivation, trafficking, prevention and addiction. The other two books that will form this trilogy will be devoted to the large drug production regions of Central Asia and the Golden Triangle. The black and white pictures reproduced in this article were taken in Colombia, Myanmar and Tajikistan; they tell the stories of law enforcement agents, drug smugglers and addicts.

COLOMBIA: Rivers flowing through the forests into the Pacific Ocean are the only way for refining laboratories in the inland jungle to get supplies and dispatch cocaine. The multiple branches of the deltas and the lush vegetation make it difficult to patrol these areas. Troops from the Colombian Guarda Costas and Infantería de Marina can lie in wait for days before intercepting a shipment of chemicals destined for a clandestine laboratory or a load of cocaine heading towards the ocean.

MYANMAR: Two weeks before this picture was taken in Lashio, police intelligence found out that a local family was involved in drug smuggling. An undercover agent posed as a Chinese buyer in a fictitious transaction with the smugglers. The dealers asked for 150 kyat per methamphetamine tablet, a reasonable price considering that the street value for synthetic drugs in Yangon exceeds 500 kyat. After three clandestine meetings, an agreement was reached for the purchase of 10,000 tablets. The anti-narcotics team raided the smugglers' house and found the drugs hidden in a bedroom. The three people shown in the picture were arrested. The police identified the woman in the centre as the mastermind of the smuggling operation.

TAJIKISTAN: It took weeks to build trust with a small group of heroin addicts in Dushanbe, Tajikistan's capital. The group first remembered seeing heroin on the streets in 1996. Back then, drug traffickers gave them free heroin. This picture, taken inside an addict's house in the outskirts of Dushanbe, illustrates a case of overdose. High-purity heroin coming from Afghanistan increased the overdose risk among addicts.