Afghanistan Reduced Opium Production: What Was The Impact On Drug Trafficking? – Analysis Key Takeaways: UNODC figures show Afghan opium poppy area falling from ~232,000 ha (2022) after the Taliban ban to 10,200 ha in 2025 (~296 tonnes potential o…

Stability and turbulence in illegal drug markets.  Kilmer B.  Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2026 Aug 18;123(33):e2512078123. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2512078123. Epub 2026 Aug 10. PMID: 42574612; PMCID: PMC13486525. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ar…

Guns, Camouflage, and Facebook: How Colombia’s Biggest ‘Narcoinfluencer’ Weaponized Social Media  Nain Pérez, known as Bendito Menor" (“Little Blessing”), turned his life as an illegal armed-group commander into social media content that reson…

New EUDA report highlights research priorities for preventing the recruitment of young people into criminal gangs Young people across Europe are increasingly being recruited and exploited by criminal drug networks through a complex mix of social vu…

UNODC World Drug Report 2026: Global drug markets transforming rapidly as technology, novel drug types and instability present traffickers with new opportunities  Drug traffickers are exploiting technologies and global instability to introduce…

Italy’s Mafia Uses TikTok to Rebrand and Reach Followers  A new study finds Italy’s crime clans are using TikTok to rebrand themselves, turning mafia codes into emojis, viral trends, and livestream “matches”—some even used to launder money.&nb…