RASC News Agency: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Afghanistan has issued a stark warning that transnational criminal networks are rapidly eroding the security, economic stability, and social fabric of vulnerable societies particularly in Afghanistan, where the Taliban’s ineffective and repressive governance has accelerated the rise of illicit economies and emboldened organized crime.
In a statement published on Saturday, November 16, on its official X account, UNODC stressed that stronger social and economic development structures are indispensable for reducing the influence of criminal syndicates and improving the lives of communities across Afghanistan and the wider region. The agency noted that these networks flourish where governance is weak, institutions are politicized, and lawful economic opportunities have collapsed conditions that have deepened under Taliban rule.
UNODC emphasized that combating transnational crime requires robust and coordinated international cooperation, including the disruption of illegal financial flows, stronger oversight of borders and trade routes, and the creation of sustainable livelihood alternatives for Afghanistani farmers who have long been dependent on illicit narcotics cultivation. According to the agency, dismantling these networks is critical not only for regional stability but also for preventing Afghanistan from becoming an entrenched sanctuary for organized crime under a regime that lacks both transparency and the capacity to enforce legitimate counter-narcotics policies.
Paula Okui Sory, UNODC’s representative in Afghanistan, warned that the rapid escalation of synthetic drug trafficking in the region has strengthened criminal organizations and increased the likelihood of further narcotics production. She cautioned that this trend poses a grave threat to regional and international security.
She stated:
“Drug production and trafficking remain the primary revenue streams for transnational criminal networks. Their profits fuel the trafficking of weapons, human beings, migrants, and other forms of organized crime, including corruption and terrorism.”
Earlier reports from the UN agency showed that the production and trafficking of synthetic drugs in Afghanistan had risen by 50 percent compared to the previous year a surge that experts link to the Taliban’s inability to manage the worsening economic crisis, coupled with the absence of credible law enforcement institutions.
UNODC further warned that international criminal networks may increasingly pivot toward synthetic narcotics, as these substances are easier to manufacture, harder to detect, and more resilient to climate shocks than traditional opium-based drugs. The shift, the agency noted, could deepen Afghanistan’s role in the global drug economy at a time when the Taliban’s counter-narcotics claims are widely viewed as inconsistent, politically motivated, and largely symbolic.
The UN agency’s findings underscore an urgent global imperative: without cohesive international strategies, the criminal underworld empowered by the instability and governance failures of the Taliban will continue to expand, worsening the humanitarian crisis and posing an escalating threat to regional and global security.
