Earlier this year (March) the UN General Assembly declared 15 November as the International Day for Prevention of and Fight against All Forms of Transnational Organized Crime (TOC).
About Transnational Organized Crime (TOC)
- Definition: TOC is organized crime coordinated across national borders, involving groups or markets of individuals working in multiple countries to plan and execute illegal business ventures.
- Types/Forms: Drug trafficking, smuggling of migrants, human trafficking, money laundering, trafficking in firearms, counterfeit goods etc.
- UN Security Council Resolution (2019): Highlighted concerns about growing nexus between terrorism and organised crime, as well as to tackle the nexus through policy measures.
Linkages between terrorists and organised crime
- Financing of Terrorism: Terrorists receive financial support from organised crimes. E.g., Northeast based militant groups mobilize funds by becoming couriers of illegal drugs, arms, etc.
- Organized criminal groups involves in transporting terrorists across borders and of returning foreign terrorist fighters in organized crime activities.
- E.g., Entry points from Southeast Asia include Moreh and the entire Chittagong Hill tracts, especially Cox’s Bazaar.
- Spread of counterfeit currency: E.g., Terrorists are the main couriers of Indian counterfeit currency inside Kashmir, which then spreads all over India.
Initiatives Undertaken
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