5. The International Nature of Crime and the illegal drug trade

What is International Crime?

International crime refers to criminal activities which occur across national borders, involving individuals from different nations.

International crimes can include serious issues such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, cybercrime and terrorism.

International crimes can have devastating consequences for vulnerable people and communities. They are also incredibly hard to stop as they can be global and require communication and collaboration between different countries and their legislative bodies.

International crime can also relate to serious violations of international law such as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and enforced disappearence.

Transnational Crimes

Transnational crime refers to organised crimes by offenders who operate transnationally for the purpose of obtaining power, influence or monetary/commercial gain.

A transnational crime must involve more than one country. While an international crime may only involve one country, it must be a matter of grave concern to other countries.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) 70% of Australia's serious criminal threats have an international dimension.

Enforcing International Crimes

For matters of international crime, Australia's International Crime Cooperation Central Authority (ICCCA) is responsible for the international transfer of prisoners (extradition) and for mutual assistance, in which countries work together to prosecute criminals.

The ICCCA is responsible for casework arising from the International Criminal Court and international war crimes tribunals, as well as issuing criminal justice certificates.

The illegal drug trade

The illegal drug trade can also be called drug trafficking.

Illegal drug trade is defined as: The illegal global trade of substances that are subjected to drug prohibition laws. This can involve the cultivation, manufacturing, distribution and sale of substances.

This involves the illegal market for drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methylamphetamine, maijuana (in places it's illegal) and various synthetic drugs.

In Australia, every state has different laws and punishments regarding the drug trade and use.

However the Commenwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) defines the crime of drug trafficking as a person who:

Sells drugs
Prepares drugs with the intention of selling them, or believing another person intends to sell them
Transports drugs with the intention of selling them, or believing another person intends to sell them
Guards or conceals drugs with the intention to sell them, or assisting another person in selling them
Possesses drugs with the intention to sell them

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The international drug trade in Australia

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission estimates that the illegal drug trade in Australia is worth 10.3 billion AUD a year.

The 'maritime corridor' that exists between Australia and the Asian and American markets has led to drug cartels, criminal organisations and local gangs vying for profit connected to the increase in demand for methylamphetamine and cocaine in Australia.

The demand for these illicit drugs has impcated neighbouring pacific islands as external organised crime groups use them to facilitate thier drug trade.

Questions to complete:

Make three observations from the table above
Based on your obsercations provide reasons for why they could be prevelent
Explain wheter you belive illegal drug use is on the rise in Australia or decline and explain why.

Research Task to complete:

Independently or working in small groups, your task is to research one of the following:

Cocaine Cassie
The Schapelle Corby Case
Joseph Pirrello
Bali 9
Tony Mokbel
Any other famous Australian drug trafficking case you know of!

In your research you need to respond to the following:

What they were smuggling
How they did it/intended to do it
An outline of their case
An criminal sentences they faced
A background of them, including who they are, where they come from and other key details
Any interesting infomation and statistics about thier case

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