Collaboration of States in the Prevention of Illicit Drug Trafficking

Vladimir Yuryevich Golubovskiy

, Elena Vladimirovna Kunts

, Rashad Kamalovich Mustafayev

Mikhail Fedorovich Kostyuk

and Elbek Tayufovich Musaev

Federal State Institution Scientific Research Institute of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia, Research Center-1,

Moscow, Russia

Federal State Institution Scientific Research Institute of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia, Research Center-3,

Moscow, Russia

The Vladimir Kikot Moscow University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, training foreign specialists' faculty,

Moscow, Russia

Moscow State University n.a. M.V. Lomonosov, Moscow, Russia

Tashkent State University of Law, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Keywords: Counteraction to crime, criminal remedies, narcotic drugs, customs authorities, offenses, suppression,

constraint, drug business.

Abstract: The article notes that at present, the collaboration of states in combating crime, including the prevention of

illegal drug trafficking, is intensifying. In this activity, a significant role is assigned to the World Customs

Organization, which requires their customs authorities to contribute to the establishment of their protected

borders by exercising preventive control over a wide range of customs offenses, including the movement of

narcotic drugs. Customs offices located at land, air, and sea borders are the main government agencies that

must protect the external borders from such threats. The study goal is to improve measures, taking into account

international experience, which will become effective in countering drug trafficking. In the study process, a

dialectical and worldview approach will be used, which determines the main directions and general principles

of cognition. Based on analysis results, the analysis of the modern constraint of illicit drug trafficking will be

given by justifying on a theoretical level.

1 INTRODUCTION

Illicit drug trafficking activities are best understood if

to consider as an industry with separate stages of

production and distribution of narcotic drugs at the

wholesale and retail levels. The money received from

the drug business goes mainly to organizations that

carry out the drug trade, while a part of the population

grows coca and opium poppies, receives very modest

funds, although they exceed the income of those who

cultivate other crops. The appearance of a drug-

trafficking industry capable of generating

multibillion-dollar annual revenues has greatly

contributed to the development of transnational

criminal organizations. The relationship between

drug trafficking and other types of illicit trade,

especially arms, is growing. In addition, the money

received from illegal drug trafficking began to be

used to bribe officials in state apparatus in order to

ensure safe conditions for illegal drug trafficking.

The movement of people within global

community and global trade continue to expand, and

there is an unfavorable trend with regard to customs

offences, which are becoming increasingly

systematic and organized on an international scale.

The World Customs Organization and a number of

other international institutions recognize this growing

adverse trend and believe that the customs authorities

should occupy a leading place in the constraint of

illicit drug trafficking. It should be pointed out that a

link between government policies and international

trade practices is noted.

Assisting international trade while protecting the

border is a daunting task, given that neighboring

countries are often the most significant trading

partners. Therefore, it is important to actively aid

development of cross-border trade and at the same

time to solve the problem of illicit drug trafficking.

In many ways, the state border location is associated

with a number of problems and opportunities.

282

Golubovskiy, V., Kunts, E., Mustafayev, R., Kostyuk, M. and Musaev, E.

Collaboration of States in the Prevention of Illicit Drug Trafﬁcking.

DOI: 10.5220/0010635400003152

In Proceedings of the VII International Scientiﬁc-Practical Conference “Criminal Law and Operative Search Activities: Problems of Legislation, Science and Practice” (CLOSA 2021), pages

282-286

ISBN: 978-989-758-532-6; ISSN: 2184-9854

Successful development of states is impossible

without trade in legitimate goods with guaranteed

transit on reasonable business planning and,

ultimately, on increasing rentability (profitability).

Against this backdrop, customs must also identify

their needs to ensure that they fulfill their tasks in the

fight against drug smuggling and other forms of

cross-border crime. In the modern world, goods

moveacross borders in strict accordance with a time

schedule, where simplified import procedures have

been introduced, with a reduced number of customs

accompanying documents and increased use of

business computerization. In the changed

environment, customs services are in dire need of

access to commercial and time-sensitive information

and intelligence data in order for anti-drug activities

to be effective and efficient.

In different years, the study of illicit drug

trafficking was devoted to works of many scientists

specializing in criminal law, economics, psychology,

criminology, criminalistics, sociology, political

science, for example, Bogdanov I. Ya., Kalinin A. P.

“Corruption in Russia. Socio-economic and legal

aspects”. M.: 2001, Kudryavtsev V.N., Luneyev

V.V., Naumov A.V. “Organized Crime and

Corruption in Russia” (1997-1999). INION RAN,

etc. M.: 2000, Kuksin I.N., Makarov D.G. Sources of

the development of organized crime in Russia/Crime,

statistics, law. M., Russian Criminological

Association. 1997. P. 37.

It is necessary to indicate the following works

among the significant works that were the scientific

basis for combating illegal drug trafficking in modern

Russia: Luneyev V.V. “Crime of the 20th century.

World Criminological Analysis”. M.: Izdatelstvo

NORMA. 1999; “Corruption and the fight against it”.

M.: Russian Criminological Association. M.: Russian

Criminological Association. 2000; Kleymenov M.P.

Problems of drug addiction in the assessments of the

population”, in the book “New criminal realities and

responses to them”, edited by Professor A.I.

Dolgovoy. M., Russian Criminological Association,

2005; Golubovskiy V.Yu. “Criminal narcotism and

organized crime” in the book “Combating organized

crime and ensuring national security”, edited by

Professor A.I. Dolgovoy. M., Russian Criminological

Association, 2019, 2019, Zhbankov V.A., Tabakov

A.V., Avdonin V.A. “Professionalization of

organized drug-related criminal activities” in the

book “Crime, criminal policy, law”, edited by

Professor A.I. Dolgovoy, M., Russian Criminological

Association, 2016, Starkov O.V. Model of causes and

conditions of transnational crime/ New criminal

realities and response to them. Edited by Professor

A.I. Dolgovoy. – M., Russian Criminological

Association. M., 2005, P. 54-57.

Among the works of Western specialists, one

should certainly mention the works of Susan Rose-

Ackerman “Corruption and the State. Causes, effects,

reforms”. М.: «Логос», 2003; John Braithwate

“Transnational Corporations and Corruption: towards

Some international Solutions” // International Journal

of the Sociology of Law. 1979. P. 125., Luciano Vaz

Ferreira, Fabio Costa Morosini “The implementation

of international anti-corruption law in business: legal

control of corruption directed to transnational

corporations” // Austral: Brazilian Journal of Strategy

& International Relations. V. 2, n. 3. 2013. P. 246-

247., Hung-En Sung Transnational Corruption in

Weapons Procurement in East Asia: A Case Analysis

// Sociological focus 42(3). August 2009 P. 254-261,

John Braithwate “Transnational Corporations and

Corruption: towards Some international Solutions” //

International Journal of the Sociology of Law. 1979.

P. 125, Kunts Elena, Golubovskii Vladimir, Legal

Defense of Interethnic and Religious Relationships:

Russian and International Experience. Journal of

Advanced Research in Law and Economics. 2017.

V.8, No 3 (25). P. 871-877, Kuntz, Y.V., and

Golubovskiy, V.Y. 2015. The legal nature of ethnic

and religious conflicts. Indian 14. Journal of Science

and Technology, 8(10), 1-7. Among the recent

publications, the following works can be noted:

Warhurst, A. Mapping the climate change and

governance challenge: the big picture // Global

Corruption Report: Climate Change / compiled by.

Transparency International. 2011. - p. 16-22;

Wilkinson, J. Corruption in Russia: Typical warning

Signs and detection // Improving Business ethics and

reducing the risk of corruption: Experience of

Russian and Multinational Companies, 2012. p. 17-

23, Luciano Vaz Ferreira, Fabio Costa Morosini “The

implementation of international anti-corruption law

in business: legal control of corruption directed to

transnational corporations” // Austral: Brazilian

Journal of Strategy & International Relations. V. 2, n.

3. 2013. P. 246-247.

It should be pointed out that there have been no

specialized studies devoted to countering drug

addiction, given the role of the World Customs

Organization.

2 MATERIALS AND METHODS

The methodological apparatus of the study is based

on an integrated and systematic approach, the

principles of historicism and scientific objectivity, a

Collaboration of States in the Prevention of Illicit Drug Trafﬁcking

283

complex of general scientific and, in particular,

scientific methods. These approaches made it

possible to consider the mechanism of interaction

between law enforcement agencies in conjunction

with authorities. The historicism principle assumes

consideration of the development regarding the

constraint of illicit drug trafficking in connection with

the change in various ways of influencing it. The

principle of scientific objectivity involves the

consideration of events and phenomena without

expressed preferences, that is, objectively. The

historical and legal method made it possible to gain

knowledge about the legislation and legal practice of

the period on issues relating to the activities of state

bodies that prevent drug trafficking. The historical-

comparative method made it possible to identify

patterns in the changes in interaction of the authorities

with foreign states in the domestic political course

context. The use of this methodological apparatus

makes it possible to recreate a complete historical

picture and comprehensively study the features of

preventing illicit drug trafficking, on the basis of

which to identify mechanisms of interaction, analyze

their practical implementation in providing assistance

to states.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

With more efforts and greater funding by states at the

national level and increased cooperation at the

international level, significant advances can be made

in combating drug trafficking.

The priority directions for the prevention of illicit

drug trafficking are the development and use of

technological means to combat their spread. It is

necessary to highlight the conditions that could

increase the efficiency of this activity. The tasks need

to be classified according to urgency into short,

medium and long term. Each of them is considered as

means and methods of observation over a wide area,

tactical means of combat and inspection not provided

for by instructions.

As problems, it is necessary to highlight the

following: study and development in the field of

automatic processing of data obtained during the

inspection of border areas; fundamental provisions

for the creation of databases and information

networks that register financial crimes; creation of

high-speed networks for processing extremely large

amounts of information; integration of massive

parallel computer data processing systems into a

single network; creation of simple, efficient and

inexpensive systems for accessing information on

combating crime; development of a national plan for

management of information resources to combat the

spread of drugs.

On the problem of study and development in the

field of activities of customs authorities, it is

necessary to strengthen control over the operational

situation; operating conditions of automatic data

processing systems; to specify the main directions for

the identification of suspects.

The operating conditions for automatic data

processing systems include the creation of databases,

software for universal computing systems, packet

switching in the network, the use of a large number of

personal computers, a large volume of input messages

leading to file changes, quick response actions at

border areas, the presence of multifunctional

databases.

Areas for identifying suspects include checking

tourists and transit passengers, documents,

registering suspects, identifying suspects using

databases, as well as using interface devices, non-

autonomous interfaces defective due to incorrectly

formulated program requirements, and providing

quick access to data.

The main requirements for automatic data

processing systems include fast and reliable

identification, compatibility of travel documents,

software-to-hardware interface, interactive access to

databases, redundancy of communication systems,

stability, accuracy, and compatibility of hardware and

software.

Particular attention should be paid to The design

of information access control systems. It is

emphasized that such systems should be simple,

efficient and cheap. The main in the control system

development should be hardware and software

solutions, as well as encryption.

A national plan for the management of

information resources of customs authorities on

combating the spread of drugs is required for each

state, including such issues as: plan goals; achieving

these goals from the stage of posing a drug problem

to the need to make a decision; functional analysis of

the entire cycle at the international, national and

cross-border level; stages of improvement; security, -

secrecy, integrity; security programs; the state of the

anti-drug plan.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Considering the fact that a significant share of illegal

drug trafficking comes from abroad, the main task is

to constraint and improve the efficiency of customs

CLOSA 2021 - VII INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC-PRACTICAL CONFERENCE “CRIMINAL LAW AND OPERATIVE SEARCH

ACTIVITIES: PROBLEMS OF LEGISLATION, SCIENCE AND PRACTICE”

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authorities. There are a number of framework

documents that cover air, sea and land operations and

ensure that customs administrations work together

with trade associations to combat drug trafficking.

Collaboration provides vast opportunities for member

countries involved in solving problems affecting both

traders and trade organizations. Customs and the

business world mutually benefit from a collective

approach. Customs officials have the opportunity to

gain sensible trade information to increase their

efficiency and vigilance against drug trafficking, and

the business world benefits from liberalization of

laws and simplified customs clearance.

In the United Kingdom, one customs team

focused on training local freight agents as part of drug

detection training. During the one-month training, a

message was received from one of the traders about a

suspicious cargo that had already passed customs

control. As a result, drug trafficking in the amount of

5.6 million dollars was suppressed. Operational

information sent to the country where the drugs came

from allowed the seizure of 19.2 million dollars’

worth of drugs.

The Irish Customs Administration's anti-drug

program, which encourages maritime personnel as

well as local residents near ports and airports to report

any suspicious activity, has also had positive results.

As a result of the information received, a large

number of narcotic drugs were confiscated, including

600 kg of cocaine found on board a converted trawler,

and sentences were issued to punish the perpetrators

of these crimes.

Within the framework of the Memorandum of

Understanding, it was approved in 1991 at the

ministerial level of the states – Great Britain,

Germany, Italy, Canada, France, Japan and the United

States, which supported a business partnership within

the framework of the World Customs Organization.

In the future, the program received a new

development and resulted in a series of Action Plans,

which provided for the strengthening of cooperation

between companies and law enforcement agencies.

The new approach has changed the relationship

between customs administrations and the business

community, especially in the area of transportation.

The efficiency of customs services has improved

significantly with real-time access to commercial

information, which has led to a large number of drugs

seizures. Combined with predictive risk methods, the

exchange of commercial and trade information has

provided a more professional approach to identifying

illicit drugs.

The World Customs Organization's program is

currently focusing on the practical implementation of

a partnership approach with an increasing number of

joined countries. In 2000, an Implementation Support

Group was formed, which should deal with those

customs administrations that wish to develop their

own trade and cooperation programs. These

administrations will receive technical assistance and

training appropriate to their own needs, and the

projects created should be further supported by the

Assistance and Public Relations team.

It is planned to study and implement opportunities

for cooperation with other organizations and their

programs, including the UN Drug Control Program

(UNDCP), the EU program (PHARE). In practice, the

information obtained by customs within the

framework of the partnership can be used effectively

when all elements of the customs service are in

readiness for action. The basis for effective

performance should be assessed against a number of

elements: current legislation; systems that encourage

the legal provision of information and assistance in

preventing the movement of illegal drugs; access to

operational information; effective enforcement

measures; effective communication with customs

administrations of other countries.

REFERENCES

Bogdanov, I.Ya., Kalinin, A.P., 2001. Corruption in Russia.

Socio-economic and legal aspects.

Golubovsky, V.Yu., 2019. Criminal narcotism and

organized crime. Combating organized crime and

ensuring national security. pp. 226-229.

Hung-En Sung, 2009. Transnational Corruption in

Weapons Procurement in East Asia: A Case Analysis.

In Sociological focus. 42(3). pp. 254-261.

John Braithwate, 1979. Transnational Corporations and

Corruption: towards Some international Solutions. In

International Journal of the Sociology of Law. pp. 125.

Kleymenov, M.P., 2005. Problems of drug addiction in

population assessments. New criminal realities and

response to them. pp. 141-146.

Kudryavtsev, V.N., Luneyev, V.V., Naumov, A.V., 2000.

Organized Crime and Corruption in Russia. INION

RAN.

Kuksin, I.N., Makarov, D.G., 1997. Sources of the

development of organized crime in Russia. Crime,

statistics, law. pp. 37.

Kunts Elena, Golubovskii Vladimir, 2017. Legal Defense

of Interethnic and Religious Relationships: Russian and

International Experience. In Journal of Advanced

Research in Law and Economics. 8-3(25). pp. 871-877.

Kuntz, Y.V., Golubovskiy, V.Y., 2015. The legal nature of

ethnic and religious conflicts. Indian 14. In Journal of

Science and Technology. 8(10). pp. 1-7.

Luciano Vaz Ferreira, Fabio Costa Morosini, 2013. The

implementation of international anti-corruption law in

Collaboration of States in the Prevention of Illicit Drug Trafﬁcking

285

business: legal control of corruption directed to

transnational corporations. In Austral: Brazilian

Journal of Strategy & International Relations. 2(3). pp.

246-247.

Luneyev, V.V., 1999. Crime of the 20th century. World

Criminological Analysis. NORMA.

Luneyev, V.V., 1999. Crime of the 20th century. World,

regional and Russian trends. NORMA. pp. 309-325.

Starkov, O.V., 2005. Model of causes and conditions of

transnational crime. New criminal realities and

response to them. pp. 54-57.

Susan Rose-Ackerman, 2003. Corruption and state. Causes,

effects, reforms. Logos.

Warhurst, A., 2011. Mapping the climate change and

governance challenge: the big picture. Global

Corruption Report: Climate Change. pp. 16-22;

Wilkinson, J., 2012. Corruption in Russia: Typical warning

Signs and detection. Improving Business ethics and

reducing the risk of corruption: Experience of Russian

and Multinational Companies. pp. 17-23.

Zhbankov, V.A., Tabakov, A.V., Avdonin, V.A., 2016.

Professionalization of organized drug-related criminal

activities. In Crime, criminal policy, law. pp. 343-348.

CLOSA 2021 - VII INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC-PRACTICAL CONFERENCE “CRIMINAL LAW AND OPERATIVE SEARCH

ACTIVITIES: PROBLEMS OF LEGISLATION, SCIENCE AND PRACTICE”

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