Drug Trafficking Cases Research Articles

The Effectiveness of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) in Preventing and Controlling Drug Trafficking in Rokan Hilir Regency

The aim of this research is to determine the effectiveness of the Rokan Hilir National Narcotics Agency (BNN) in preventing and controlling drug trafficking in the Rokan Hilir area. The type of research used is descriptive qualitative research. The results of the discussion show that the prevention and control of drug trafficking carried out by the Rokan Hilir National Narcotics Agency is effective. This can be seen from several drug trafficking cases that were successfully uncovered by BNN Rokan Hilir. Several cases that have been uncovered and handled by BNN Rokan Hilir are cases of illicit narcotics trafficking. In 2023, officers confiscated 20.6 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine. For his actions, the suspect is threatened with Article 114 paragraph 2 in conjunction with Article 132 paragraph (1) 112 paragraph 2 in conjunction with Article 132 paragraph (1) of Law Number 35 of 2009, with a maximum penalty of the death penalty. 2019BNN also succeeded in arresting a suspected dealer of 4.1 kg of methamphetamine and 10 thousand ecstasy pills. This proves that the National/City Narcotics Agency is working effectively in carrying out drug control and prevention in the Rokan Hilir area.

Analisis Aspek Hukum Pidana dalam Menangani Kejahatan Perdagangan Narkotika Studi Kasus: Putusan Pengadilan Negeri Jakarta Selatan No.133/Pid.Sus/2023/PN JKT.SEL)

This article analyzes the criminal law aspects in combating drug trafficking through a case study of the verdict of South Jakarta District Court Number 133/Pid.Sus/2023/PN JKT.SEL. Juridical-normative and qualitative approaches are employed to analyze the case facts, legal arguments, sentencing considerations, and social impacts of the court's decision. Case study, descriptive, comparative, and content analysis methods are utilized to gain a comprehensive understanding of the legal and social aspects involved in addressing drug trafficking cases. The research findings provide insights into the implementation of criminal law, social influences, and countermeasures against drug trafficking crimes. Recommendations can be made for the improvement of handling similar cases in the future.

Machine Learning-Assisted Rapid Screening of Four Types of New Psychoactive Substances in Drug Seizures.

Over the past few years, new psychoactive substances (NPS) have become a global health and social problem because of their wide variety, constant structural renewal, vague legal definitions, and rapid adaptation to legal restrictions. The rapid structural modifications of NPS have posed significant challenges for the screening and identification of these new substances using traditional mass spectrometric techniques based on reference substances or a mass spectral database. Here, we propose supervised machine learning (ML) classification models such as k-nearest neighbors, support vector machine, random forest, and multigrained cascade forest for the rapid screening of NPS using mass spectrometric data. This approach utilizes ML methods to learn the statistical probability distributions of mass spectral data for NPS and non-NPS. Four classification ML models were generated and evaluated using a data set comprising 567 LC-MS and 732 GC-MS spectra. Through cross validation, we achieved an F1 score of 0.35-0.97. These algorithms were applied in conjunction with mass spectrometry techniques for the detection of six seizures including electronic cigarette oil and suspected powdered substances netted in drug trafficking cases. The models provided warning signals for synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic cathinones, and fentanyl. Thus, an early warning system was successfully established, which provided a useful method for reliable and effective identifications of unknown NPS.

One judge to rule them all: Single‐member courts as an answer to delays in criminal trials

AbstractThis paper is a discussion of whether single‐member judicial panels are an effective way of accelerating the delivery of criminal justice. We use a reform which introduced single‐member courts in Greece, where delays in court proceedings are common according to the European Justice Scoreboard and the European Court of Human Rights. We use a novel dataset of 1463 drug trafficking cases tried between June 2012 and January 2014. As our measure of efficiency we use the time to issue a decision, and we find that single‐member panels are as efficient as three‐member ones. We take advantage of a feature of the reform to control for several confounding factors and support a causal interpretation of our findings. We complement our analysis with a survey of 142 judges to guide our interpretation of the results.

Defenders at Law: Assessing the performance of legal defense on Drug Trafficking cases in Brazil

Defenders at Law: Assessing the performance of legal defense on Drug Trafficking cases in Brazil

Prosecutors, court communities, and policy change: The impact of internal DOJ reforms on federal prosecutorial practices*

AbstractThe current study examines how key internal U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) policy changes have been translated into front‐line prosecutorial practices. Extending courts‐as‐communities scholarship and research on policy implementation practices, we use U.S. Sentencing Commission data from 2004 to 2019 to model outcomes for several measures of prosecutorial discretion in federal drug trafficking cases, including the use of mandatory minimum charges and prosecutor‐endorsed departures, to test the impact of the policy changes on case processing outcomes. We contrast prosecutorial measures with measures that are more impervious to discretionary manipulation, such as criminal history, and those that represent judicial and blended discretion, including judicial departures and final sentence lengths. We find a significant effect of the policy reforms on how prosecutorial tools are used across DOJ policy periods, and we find variation across districts as a function of contextual conditions, consistent with the court communities literature. We also find that a powerful driver of changes in prosecutorial practices during our most recent period is the confirmation of individual Trump‐appointed U.S. Attorneys at the district level, suggesting an important theoretical place for midlevel actors in policy translation and implementation.

A Forensic Detection Method for Hallucinogenic Mushrooms via High-Resolution Melting (HRM) Analysis.

In recent years, trafficking and abuse of hallucinogenic mushrooms have become a serious social problem. It is therefore imperative to identify hallucinogenic mushrooms of the genus Psilocybe for national drug control legislation. An internal transcribed spacer (ITS) is a DNA barcoding tool utilized for species identification. Many methods have been used to discriminate the ITS region, but they are often limited by having a low resolution. In this study, we sought to analyze the ITS and its fragments, ITS1 and ITS2, by using high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis, which is a rapid and sensitive method for evaluating sequence variation within PCR amplicons. The ITS HRM assay was tested for specificity, reproducibility, sensitivity, and the capacity to analyze mixture samples. It was shown that the melting temperatures of the ITS, ITS1, and ITS2 of Psilocybe cubensis were 83.72 ± 0.01, 80.98 ± 0.06, and 83.46 ± 0.08 °C, and for other species, we also obtained species-specific results. Finally, we performed ITS sequencing to validate the presumptive taxonomic identity of our samples, and the sequencing output significantly supported our HRM data. Taken together, these results indicate that the HRM method can quickly distinguish the DNA barcoding of Psilocybe cubensis and other fungi, which can be utilized for drug trafficking cases and forensic science.

Multi-locus identification of Psilocybe cubensis by high-resolution melting (HRM)

Hallucinogenic mushroom is a kind of toxic strain containing psychoactive tryptamine substances such as psilocybin, psilocin and ibotenic acid, etc. The mushrooms containing hallucinogenic components are various, widely distributed and lack of standard to define, which made a great challenge to identification. Traditional identification methods, such as morphology and toxicology analysis, showed shortcomings in old or processed samples, while the DNA-based identification of hallucinogenic mushrooms would allow to identify these samples due to the stability of DNA. In this paper, four primer sets are designed to target Psilocybe cubensis DNA for increasing resolution of present identification method, and the target markers include largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (marked as PC-R1), psilocybin-related phosphotransferase gene (marked as PC-PT), glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (marked as PC-3) and translation EF1α (marked as PC-EF). Real-time PCR with high-resolution melting (HRM) assay were used for the differentiation of the fragments amplified by these primer sets, which were tested for specificity, reproducibility, sensitivity, mixture analysis and multiplex PCR. It was shown that the melting temperatures of PC-R1, PC-PT, PC-3 and PC-EF of P. cubensis were (87.93 ± 0.12) °C, (82.21 ± 0.14) °C, (79.72 ± 0.12) °C and (80.11 ± 0.19) °C in our kinds of independent experiments. Significant HRM characteristic can be shown with a low concentration of 62.5 pg/µL DNA sample, and P. cubensis could be detected in mixtures with Homo sapiens or Cannabis sativa. In summary, the method of HRM analysis can quickly and specifically distinguish P. cubensis from other species, which could be utilized for forensic science, medical diagnosis and drug trafficking cases. Supplemental data for this article are available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/20961790.2021.1875580.

Judicial Disparity, Deviation, and Departures from Sentencing Guidelines: The Case of Hong Kong

Analyzing sentencing disparity calls for more calibrated measures to capture the nuances of judicial discretion within jurisdictions that adopt strict sentencing guidelines. This article uses an unconventional outcome variable, percent deviation, to investigate guideline digressions in a nested, multilevel model. Percent deviation is calculated based on the difference between the guidelines’ “arithmetic starting point” and the actual starting point that a judge adopts. Two equations were used to measure percent deviation from the arithmetic starting point before and after adjustment for guilty plea sentence reductions. Extracting data on drug trafficking cases from an open‐source database from the Hong Kong Judiciary (n = 356), we illustrate how percent deviation can be employed as a measure of inter‐judge disparity using hierarchical linear models (HLMs). Our findings suggest that approximately 8 to 10 percent of the deviation in sentence length can be attributed to judges’ differential sentencing behaviors. The deviation is affected by case characteristics as well as judicial characteristics. Due to the wide guideline ranges, departures from said guidelines’ ranges are not common. This indicates that the guideline ranges mask the deviation and inter‐judge disparity that exist and recur.

Death Penalty for Drug Trafficking Cases in Malaysia: Theory vs Reality

Death penalty is the most extreme punishment for a crime and has been berated as heartless and barbaric. Nations implementing death penalty are scorned upon and pressured to replace death penalty with more humane punishment. Although drug trafficking in Malaysia is punishable by death, there is no guarantee that all accused persons charged for drug trafficking will be hanged to death. Judges in Malaysia are extremely cautious in meting out death penalty and would only do so in the absence of reasonable doubt. This paper examines drug trafficking cases reported over two decades to ascertain whether Malaysia has liberally executed death penalty on drug traffickers. Empirical analysis supported by doctrinal research was carried out on drug trafficking cases reported in three leading law journals in Malaysia from 1991 to 2012. Analysis of the cases on drug trafficking in Malaysia revealed that a significant number of cases were concluded with the acquittal of the accused persons. While enforcing death penalty is not arbitrarily done, acquittals in drug trafficking cases are indicative of need for improvements.

(How Much) Do Mandatory Minimums Matter?

For decades, advocates, lawmakers, and scholars have lambasted mandatory minimum sentencing laws, especially in the context of federal drug prosecutions. Low-level drug defendants receiving severe mandatory sentences, including life imprisonment, make national news. In 2013, Attorney General Eric Holder attempted to rectify this problem by enacting a sweeping change to mandatory minimum drug charging policy. The policy instructed all federal prosecutors to stop charging mandatory minimums in drug trafficking cases involving low-level, nonviolent defendants. This paper shows that the charging policy did not work as intended. Although prosecutors meaningfully complied with the Memo’s charging instruction, the policy change only modestly reduced sentences for eligible defendants, and it did not reduce racial disparities in sentencing. Why didn’t the policy change work as intended? The paper examines three possible explanations for the findings. First, it argues that the Holder Memo exemplifies a problem I call redundant leniency: rather than focusing on those who could benefit the most from charging leniency, it targeted a portion of defendants who already had and used opportunities to avoid mandatory minimum sentences. Second, it argues that Holder’s reform failed to account for the many ways in which mandatory minimums are reinforced by other aspects of federal criminal law, policy, and practice, a phenomenon I call mandatory minimum entrenchment. Third, I investigate but ultimately reject the hypothesis that spillover effects on ineligible defendants might mask benefits for eligible defendants. I find suggestive evidence of spillovers among a small portion of ineligible defendants—ineligible defendants with at least one eligible co-defendant experienced sentencing reductions in the post-Memo period, while other ineligible defendants do not. The paper concludes by arguing that those hoping to address mass and racially disparate incarceration must implement more systemic reforms.

Smuggling of drugs by body packing: Evidence from Chinese sentencing documents

BackgroundIn China, body packing as a means of transporting drugs was firstly found in Yunnan province in an area that shares a border with the Golden Triangle in late 1970s. Since then, drug trafficking cases that utilize body packing as the primary mode of transportation have increased substantially. Due to a scarcity of data, however, the scope and nature of such criminal activity is not thoroughly understood. This study provides a new approach to the analysis of body packing by digitizing and analyzing court sentencing documents in China from 2006–2016. MethodologyThis study implements network analysis and descriptive statistics to identify the structures of drug trafficking routes involving body packing in China and aims to provide a comprehensive examination of body packing activity, including the pattern of geographic routes and the characteristics of captured body packers. A generalized inflated negative binomial model is also used to investigate the effects of legal and extra-legal factors on the length of sentence for captured body packers. ResultsWe identified three types of trafficking routes involving body packing: intra-provincial, inter-provincial, and international. Our results showed that heroin and methamphetamine are the two primary drugs trafficked by captured body packers. Network analysis revealed that among body packing routes, there are three major hubs that serve as the primary origin for the trafficking —Yunnan, Sichuan, and Myanmar— and three potential authorities— Guangdong, Xinjiang, and Sichuan—which serve as the common destinations of the drug routes. Consistent with previous studies, our research also demonstrated that heavier punishments are given in cases that involve a larger quantity of drugs and repeat offenders. Offenders who fall into special groups, such as pregnant/lactating women, the disabled, or minors, receive more lenient sentences. In addition, our analysis further revealed that the logic behind longer sentences for those offenders who confessed as opposed to those who did not, is possibly due to the concentration of imprisonment values at fifteen years, as many of the confessed body packers are sentenced to the maximum fixed term of imprisonment. ConclusionBy narrowing the gap in knowledge on the topic of body packing, our analysis provides evidence-based strategies for fighting against body packing, specifically by identifying geographical patterns and the profiles of captured body packers.

O discurso judicial sobre o tráfico e uso de drogas: uma análise das sentenças do Tribunal de Justiça do Rio de Janeiro

A atual lei de drogas estipulou critérios para a diferenciação entre os crimes de uso e tráfico de drogas, estabelecendo diferentes modelos de resposta estatal para esses dois crimes. Esta pesquisa debruça-se sobre sentenças que versam sobre o crime de tráfico de drogas para entender como os juízes diferenciam os crimes de uso e tráfico. A partir da análise de uma amostra de todas decisões de primeira instância do Tribunal de Justiça do Estado do Rio de Janeiro do ano de 2015, pudemos estabelecer uma série de categorias pelas quais os magistrados justificam a sua decisão em matéria de tráfico de drogas. Trata-se aqui de uma pesquisa empírica de cunho qualitativo, que contou com a técnica de análise de documentos como base. A análise foi realizada lançando-se mão da teorização fundamentada nos dados (TFD) e os resultados apontam, em conformidade com a literatura da área, para a centralidade da prova testemunhal na distinção entre usuários e traficantes.

The Effect of Group Cognitive Behavior Therapy on Behavior Changes on Adolescents Risked at Drug Abuse based on Age Characteristics in Kabupaten Dharmasraya

Various problems in adolescents are increasing, one of which is the drug abuse. Considering the condition of Kab. Dharmasraya, which is very vulnerable to drug trafficking cases, a prevention act to drug abuse behavior among adolescents is required. This study aimed to determine the effect of Group Cognitive Behavior Therapy (GCBT) on behavior changes on adolescents risked at drug abuse in Kab. Dharmasraya. This study was a Quasi Experimental Research with Pretest and Posttest With Control Group. The samples were 64 people consisting of 32 people in the control group and 32 people in the intervention group. The results of this study indicated that there was a significant influence on changes in adolescent behavior in the intervention group. Meanwhile, there was no significant differences happened in the control group. Therefore, Group Cognitive Behavior Therapy (GCBT) can be applied to change the behavior of adolescents risked at drug abuse. It is expected that GCBT can be implemented at schools in collaboration with the health department to prevent drug abuse behavior on adolescents. Keywords: Age Characteristics, Adolescent Behavior Risked at Drug Abuse, Group Cognitive Behavior Therapy

Exploring interrelationships between high-level drug trafficking and other serious and organised crime: an Australian study

ABSTRACTDrug trafficking is frequently argued to be the leading driver of other serious and organised crime, but the interrelationships between such activities remain poorly understood. This paper uses open source law enforcement data to explore interrelationships in Australia. A database was compiled of all reported criminal incidents of high-level drug trafficking between 2011 and 2017 and any concurrent charges for other serious and organised crime (SOC), sourced from official reports and press releases of Australian federal law enforcement and criminal intelligence agencies. Over the seven-years period 24.4% drug trafficking cases involved concurrent SOC charges. Logistic regressions showed characteristics associated with any concurrent SOC charge included the type of drug trafficked, network size, network nationality and OMCG ties. But characteristics differed according to which SOC was cited in connection with the drug trafficking offence e.g. firearms offences versus corruption/fraud. We discuss the implications for research, policy and practice.

Kerja Sama Indonesia-Interpol dalam Menangani Isu Penyelundupan Narkoba di Wilayah Perbatasan Indonesia

Tulisan ini menganalisis bentuk upaya Interpol dalam pemberantasan isu penyelundupan narkoba di Indonesia dengan usaha kerja sama. Dengan menggunakan metode tracing, peneliti mengambil konsep Rezim Internasional dalam melihat bagaimana rezim membentuk usaha serta upaya Indonesia dalam menangani kasus penyelundupan narkoba. Artikel ini berkontribusi pada perluasan dan pendalaman teori rezim internasional dengan memperdalam tiga variabel utama menurut Stephen D. Krasner yaitu Kepentingan Negara, Kekuatan Politik, serta Norma dan Prinsip. Melihat variabel analisis, hasil akhir dari penelitian ini adalah kerja sama dalam rezim membangun dan mempengaruhi bentuk penanganan konsisten yang dipilih oleh Indonesia terkait isu penyelundupan narkoba agar lebih “tertata” dan menjadi alasan untuk memperkuat kerja sama. Hal ini didorong dengan bentuk murni dari narkoba sebagai salah satu isu kejahatan transnasional yang tidak mementingkan peran perbatasan negara dan menuntut kerja sama antarnegara.

Hard Bargains: The Coercive Power of Drug Laws in Federal Court. By Mona Lynch. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2016.

Hard Bargains: The Coercive Power of Drug Laws in Federal Court. By 5 Mona Lynch. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2016.Feeling low on your outrage? Then read Mona Lynch's book, Hard Bargains: The Coercive Power of Drug Laws in Federal Court, which takes the reader on a journey through the convoluted and often shocking realities of federal drug trafficking policy. The book offers an exceptionally compelling account of drug trafficking cases are selected, processed, and adjudicated in three different regions of the country (a fourth was excluded for sensible and well- explained reasons). The result is an unprecedented account of the federal system is geared to suppress defiance and punish non-compliance (4). The book makes for an absorbing read as you encounter one outrage after another; yet, Lynch maintains a scien tist's stance throughout-letting the coercive use of prosecutorial power speak for itself. She offers hyperbole and none is needed.As Lynch teases apart how complex and competing bodies of law get interpreted and applied in the real world (152) she uncovers a dismaying array of consequences produced by federal prosecutors' tremendous power, including the proactive punitiveness of selecting cases precisely because they will be subject to harsh sentences. Many other troubling outcomes arise from the calculation that Lynch asserts drives all federal sentencing in drug cases: drug multiplied by criminal record produces the appropriate sentence (60). It turns out that both of the equation's determin- ing factors are subject to interpretation ranging from exaggeration to virtual falsification. Relevant in drug cases, for example, includes conduct gleaned from uncorroborated reports by informers who allege and detail past drug transactions with the defendant (emphasis added, 27). Similarly, drug can be based on weight in which informants provide information that is used to estimate drug for alleged past trafficking acts-they tell the law enforcement agents much was sold, often, and for long and no drugs have to be found or tested or 39 put on the scale for it to affect convictions and sentencing (emphasis added, 54). Together, relevant conduct and historical not only can severely increase a defendant's potential maximum sentence, but they point to an even more profound concern. While the merits of shifting power from judges to prosecutors deserves substantial debate, current practice comes awfully close to bestowing prosecutors with the most powerful privilege of all: defining reality itself.A key strength of Hard Bargains is Lynch explores this theme of prosecutorial power from a variety of methodological angles. Her innovative take on conducting a comparative study entails sustained observation and inquiry across and within jurisdictions coupled with longitudinal processing data to provide context. She also utilizes a case analytic approach in which she followed specific cases through adjudication. This multimethod, multi-site, historically situated analysis is precisely what is needed in order to grapple productively with the complexities of the process and substance of law. Indeed, her methodology is a contribution in and of itself. 57Lynch's concise yet insightful history of drug laws reveals details such as it being rooted in an impetus to monitor health care professionals with a focus on administrative and tax compliance. It also introduces race and racism as important themes of the book. …

Human Rights and Wrongs in Iran's Drug Diplomacy with Europe

Europe has a strong interest in and a history of assisting Iran in controlling inflows of drugs from Afghanistan. But due to Iran's increasing use of the death penalty in drug trafficking cases, Europe has terminated its cooperation. Based on interviews with Iranian policy-makers and representatives of both human rights organizations and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), this article presents Denmark's withdrawal of drug control funding in 2013 as a case study, analyzing the dilemmas and trajectories of joint Iranian-European drug diplomacy and the prospects for reengagement following the nuclear agreement.

Enforcement of Capital Punishment: Legal Issues in Eliminating Drug Trafficking

Drug trafficking in Malaysia is punishable with a mandatory capital punishment. To convict a person for drug trafficking is a laborious task for the prosecution. This paper presents the findings of the research on drug trafficking cases which revealed that the courts have been vigorous in meting out capital punishment. However, there are challenges faced by the prosecution in succeeding in cases. This study found various hindrances that frustrate the efforts in combating drug trafficking activities. In some cases, due to evidential procedures and requirements, the person accused for drug trafficking had to be acquitted even though the amount of drugs involved in the case appeared to suggest that there was some drug-related activities. Therefore, while capital punishment is theoretically aimed at deterring drug trafficking, much has to be done to achieve the intended objective.
 Keywords: drug trafficking, capital punishment, evidential procedures, acquittal, conviction

Poly-drug trafficking: Estimating the scale, trends and harms at the Australian border

BackgroundInternational drug law enforcement agencies have identified an apparent rise in high level drug traffickers choosing to deal in multiple different drugs. It is hypothesised that this may be a “deliberate modus operandi” and that the formation of “portfolios of trades” may make such traffickers more profitable, harmful and resilient to changes in drug supply and policing. In this paper we provide the first exploration of the extent, nature and harms of poly-drug trafficking at Australian borders. MethodsTwo different methods were used. First, we used Australian Federal Police (AFP) data on all commercial level seizures at the Australian border from 1999 to 2012 to identify the proportion of seizures that were poly-drug and trends over time. Second, we used unit-record data on a sub-set of 20 drug trafficking cases and linked-cases (defined as the original drug trafficking case and all other criminal cases that were connected via common offenders and/or suspects) to compare the profiles of poly-drug and mono-drug traffickers, including: the total weight and type of drug seized, the value of assets seized, and the level of involvement in other crime (such as money laundering and corruption). ResultsBetween 5% and 35% of commercial importations at the Australian border involved poly-drug trafficking. Poly-drug trafficking occurred in almost every year of analysis (1999–2012), but it increased only slightly over time. Compared to mono-drug traffickers poly-drug traffickers were characterised by: larger quantities of drugs seized, larger networks, longer criminal histories and more involvement in other types of serious crime. ConclusionSome fears about poly-drug traffickers may have been overstated particularly about the inherent escalation of this form of trafficking. Nevertheless, this suggests poly-drug traffickers are likely to pose added risks to governments and law enforcement than mono-drug traffickers. They may necessitate different types of policy responses.