Drug Trafficking Schemes Exploit Wood Exports and Advanced Technology, UN Report Finds

Investigators in Bolivia's Santa Cruz department seized wood impregnated with illicit drugs that originated in Brazil and Chile and are sending samples to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Miami for forensic analysis. Prosecutor Alberto Zeballos said raids targeted six companies and that the operation, coordinated with the Special Force against Narcotrafficking (FELCN), aims to map the logistical routes used to move the contaminated timber abroad.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime warned that global drug consumption rose to 331 million people in 2024, a 34 % increase over the previous decade, and recorded a record 755 new psychoactive substances. Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl are expanding as Afghan opium production falls. In Latin America, traffickers are adopting drones in Mexico and Panama and unmanned semi‑submersible vessels in Colombia to evade detection. Colombia’s latest coca‑crop monitoring shows a 3.5 % rise to 261 000 hectares.

Both reports highlight how drug networks are increasingly using sophisticated methods and international supply chains to distribute narcotics worldwide.