UNODC and INL Support to Strengthen Prosecutors' Capacity to Fight Organized Crime for Sustainable Development
Article from UNODC
Author:
Published: 12/07/2012
Newspaper section: UNODC
It was recently reported that Lao PDR had seen an over 70% increase in reported human trafficking cases from 2010 to 2011. A total of 37 new cases related to human trafficking were brought before the court during 2011. Among the 195 trafficking victims returned from Thailand in 2011, 68% (125 females, 8 males) were under the age of 18, and furthermore, 31% (55 females and 6 males) were under the age of 15.
Drug production and trafficking is another serious threat. According to the annual Opium Surveys, Lao PDR saw a 173% increase in opium cultivation in five consecutive years from 1,500ha in 2007 to 4,100 ha in 2011. There has also been an eighteen fold increase in seizures of Amphetamine Type Stimulant, commonly called Yaba, from 2008 to 2010. In 2011, the Asia Pacific Group on Anti Money Laundering estimates that annual proceeds from illicit drugs in the Lao PDR could be higher than US$ 750 million. It is also estimated that some 80% of ongoing court trials are drug related.
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