Based on empirical evidence, this research: highlights the timeline of changes in Ukrainian agricultural sector since the onset of the full-scale war in 2022 and the maritime blockade affecting exports; examines the relevant transformation of the illegal grain market amid these extraordinary...

As part of a package to address migrant smuggling, on 28 November 2023, the European Commission proposed a regulation to strengthen police cooperation and Europol's role in the fight against migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings (COM(2023) 754). The proposal was not supported by an...

Efficient and interconnected logistics networks, like postal services, provide powerful tools for criminal groups to organize cross-border drug trafficking by exploiting legitimate infrastructure. Despite postal services becoming inadvertent facilitators in smuggling, focused research on this...

Tackling migrant smuggling in the digital space presents significant challenges for judicial authorities across Europe. Organised criminal groups use digital tools, online platforms, social media and encrypted telephones to offer their illegal services. Increasingly, this digital dimension of...

Migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings (THB) pose a serious threat to the EU's security, as well as to the irregular migrants and THB victims involved. Both crime areas are embedded in the broader serious and organised crime environment, with criminals taking advantage of existing...

In May 2023 Frontex coordinated a joint action day (JAD) against the smuggling of counterfeit goods at the external EU borders, including maritime ones. The JAD was implemented under EMPACT and was led and co-led respectively by Bulgaria and Portugal. The operational activity also focused on the...

On request from the Focus Group on Migrant Smuggling supported by Eurojust, definitions of the criminal offence migrant smuggling or facilitation of illegal immigration were collected by Eurojust. The collection is based on contributions from Member States and contains the definitions in either...

Rising poverty and social and political unrest are pushing increasing numbers of people towards criminal networks that facilitate unauthorised entry, transit or stay in the EU. This new CORDIS results pack features seven EU-funded projects that contribute to the fight against migrant smuggling.

Tackling migrant smuggling in the digital space presents significant challenges for judicial authorities across Europe. Organised criminal groups use digital tools, online platforms, social media and encrypted telephones to offer their illegal services. Increasingly, this digital dimension of...

Rising poverty and social and political unrest are pushing increasing numbers of people towards criminal networks that facilitate unauthorised entry, transit or stay in the EU. This new CORDIS results pack features seven EU-funded projects that contribute to the fight against migrant smuggling.

Rising poverty and social and political unrest are pushing increasing numbers of people towards criminal networks that facilitate unauthorised entry, transit or stay in the EU. This new CORDIS results pack features seven EU-funded projects that contribute to the fight against migrant smuggling.

Criminal networks engaged in the illicit cigarette trade exhibit remarkable resilience in the face of external threats and the evolving landscape brought about by the Russia-Ukraine war. They adeptly navigate these challenges by swiftly altering smuggling routes, modifying their methods of...

Migrant smuggling remains a pressing concern for the European Union (EU), posing significant challenges to law enforcement (LE) professionals. To address these challenges, the New Pact on Migration and Asylum introduced common European solutions for managing migration, asylum, and border...

The illicit drug trade generates billions of dollars and sustains transnational criminal organisations. Drug markets can destabilise governance and undermine development. Data indicate increasing drug use in South Africa. However, information on the size and value of the drug market is limited....

Smuggling harms the economy and development of a country. Various statistical methods can be used to determine the geographical distribution of smuggling within a country. In this regard, clustering techniques (both classical and spatial analysis) have been used to present an overview of...

Legal and illegal markets often coexist. In theory, marginal legalization can either substitute for the remaining parallel market, or complement it via scale effects. I study migrants crossing without prior authorization at the US southwest border, where large-scale unlawful crossing coexists...

We study a Force-down/Shoot-down intervention in Brazil that led cocaine traffickers to shift from air to river routes. Using data on cocaine production, homicides, and the network of rivers in the Amazon, we provide evidence that violence increased in municipalities along river routes...

"Illicit financial flows (IFFs) associated with commodity trade erode the tax base of resource-rich developing countries. Efforts to curb IFFs and reform taxation stumble over enhanced North-South tensions but remain crucial to helping poorer countries mobilise domestic resources for...

International trade in food has helped to reduce global poverty and hunger. However, illicit trade in food and food fraud undermine the global food system and endanger public health. This publication looks into the challenges of combating illicit practices, such as smuggling and counterfeiting....

This scoping review systematically examines the definitions, challenges, and methodologies for estimating the illegal gambling market, spanning literature from 2000 to 2023. Given the clandestine nature of illegal gambling and its significant economic and social implications, understanding its...

Wildlife crime drives existential harms including biodiversity loss and climate change, disproportionately affecting the Global South. Criminal justice approaches dominate the public response, yet scant evidence exists on how corruption, an economic crime, undermines deterrence and exacerbates...

Previous research has documented how British American Tobacco (BAT) and other transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) smuggled their own products into Iran in the 1990s in order to circumvent sanctions and other trade restrictions. In the early 2000s, BAT, along with other TTCs, signed legal...

Objectives: This study examines the convergence of smuggling and trafficking in persons along the Central Mediterranean Route (CMR) to Europe. We explore where and how these phenomena blur, impacting states’ obligations and policy decisions. Methods: We analyse 71 interviews with migrants who...

This paper explores the impact of illegal markets on modern slavery, focusing on the Brazilian government's complete shutdown of the mahogany market in the late 90s. Utilizing a quasi-experimental design that exploits the natural variation in the occurrence of mahogany trees in Brazilian...

We investigate the effect of economic sanctions on trade flows in countries sharing a border with sanctioned states. According to trade models, sanctions are expected to reduce trade flows as they disrupt established trading routes and economic relationships with suppliers and customers....

This paper provides evidence of a consistent gap in the value of cultural goods exported from Italy and the value declared by its trading partners in official trade statistics for the period 1994-2021 and discusses it in the context of the literature on illicit trafficking in cultural property,...