Drugs Removed From Illicit World Traffic
Thousands
of Pounds
20
Seizures by Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs
and U.S. Bureau of Customs
18 -
16_
14 _
12_
Codeine- Morphine
10.
Cocaine
8
6
4
Opium
Morphine Base
2
0
0
Heroin
1971
1972
controlled by Turkish and French traffickers, and ends in distribution systems operated by major American narcotics syndicates. Each step in this process, including the illicit processing of Turkish opium and morphine base, the smuggling of narcotics from the Near and Middle East to western Europe, the refining of the heroin in France, and the clandestine shipment of heroin to the United States, represents a separate and independent transaction handled by various groups brought together by the lure of high profits.
The basic trafficking system from Turkey to France involves the purchase of crude opium by interior opium traffickers, who convert the opium into morphine base using their own facilities. Exterior traffickers specialize in selling the morphine base to foreign customers.
There are variations to the Turkey-France procedure. One in- volves narcotics that pass through the Middle East under the control mainly of Syrian and Lebanese traffickers. In the past, Syrian traf- fickers obtained crude opium from Turkey and processed it into mor- phine base, while Lebanese traffickers found buyers in France and transported the narcotics to them. Lebanese traffickers now tend to pick up their narcotics supplies directly from Turkey; thus the role of the Syrian traffickers has significantly declined.
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