Afghan Heroin and Turkey: Ramifications of an International Security Threat

Abstract

Afghanistan has been the global epicenter of heroin production for the past decade. Heroin networks and drug lords present a principal impediment to security, state building, and democratic governance. Beyond the national boundaries, Afghan-originated heroin creates enormous challenges for international security by financing terrorism, instigating corruption, killing nearly 100,000 users worldwide every year, undermining public order, and debilitating economic development. The devastating impacts of the Afghan heroin trade have spilled over into Southwest Asia, Central Asia, Russia, China, the Balkans, and Europe. Because Turkey stands on the shortest transit pathway between Southwest Asia and Europe, it is intensively exposed to illicit flows of Afghan heroin along the Balkan Route. Transnational crime syndicates have been exploiting Turkish territories for decades for the purpose of trafficking heroin to European markets. This paper discusses Afghan heroin as an international security conundrum. It further seeks to explore the dimensions of the threat in Turkey, new patterns in heroin trafficking, and profiles and operation modes of transnational syndicates. The analyses are based upon the scrutiny of important case files, national seizure database, and annual KOM provincial questionnaires. In conclusion, the paper puts forward policy recommendations for security elites both in Turkey and in other states affected by the illicit trade of Afghan heroin.