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“Products - Vital Statistics Rapid Release - Provisional Drug Overdose Data.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 12 May 2021, www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/drug-overdose-data.htm.

Hutchinson, Derick. “Feds: Former Michigan Man Led $100M Cocaine Org. Planning to Use Underwater Drone to Send Drugs to Europe.” WDIV, WDIV ClickOnDetroit, 21 Apr. 2021, www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2021/04/21/feds-former-michigan-man-led-100m-cocaine-org-planning-to-use-underwater-drone-to-send-drugs-to-europe/.

“ICS Launches New Edition of Leading Industry Guidelines on Combatting Drug Trafficking.” Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide, 16 Apr. 2021, www.hellenicshippingnews.com/ics-launches-new-edition-of-leading-industry-guidelines-on-combatting-drug-trafficking/.

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Michigan, like all other places, MI law enforcement are forced to deal with the and innovative ways that drug dealers that distributing drugs. A few weeks ago, it was discovered that a Detroit main was planning to use an underwater drone to send drugs to Europe.

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Cocaine

Federal officials arrested a former Michigan resident who they say was the leader of a massive, $100 million international cocaine trafficking organization that planned to use an underwater drone to ship drugs to Europe.

Ylli Didani, 43, has been charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine, acting United States Attorney Saima S. Mohsin announced.

Authorities from Farmington Hills, Sterling Heights, Troy, Novi, Dearborn Heights and Northfield Township were involved in the investigation of this case, according to federal officials.

Federal officials said Didani and others planned and financed the distribution of cocaine from several places, including the Eastern District of Michigan.

Didani received at least $550,000 from others to purchase bulk cocaine twice -- in June 2016 and December 2017, a federal indictment claims.

He is accused of being part of a group that used private airplanes and commercial containerships to distribute cocaine throughout Europe, officials said.

He's also accused of arranging the distribution of several shipments of cocaine from South America to Europe, authorities said. That cocaine was seized by law enforcement, records show.

In 2019 and 2020, law enforcement officials seized more than 3,400 kilograms of cocaine -- a street value of more than $100 million -- from Didani's organization, according to authorities.

"This is a very significant and important prosecution of a large scale, well-organized drug trafficking organization involved in the distribution of thousands of kilograms of cocaine worth tens of millions of dollars, across multiple continents," Mohsin said.

Didani was arrested March 31 in Charlotte, North Carolina. A criminal complaint unsealed the following day accused him of being the leader of an international drug trafficking organization with ties to the U.S., Mexico, South America and Europe.

"This indictment of a major cocaine trafficker is the result of a joint investigation with law enforcement partners from around the globe," Special Agent in Charge Keith Martin said.

According to the complaint, Didani led the organization while another member oversaw the design of an underwater drone that could transport large shipments of cocaine to Europe.

Feds said the drone would be equipped with an underwater modem and GPS antenna. It would be used take the cocaine overseas while attached to the bottom of a commercial containership, according to authorities.

Off the shore of Europe, the drone would be remotely released from the containership and picked up by a fishing boat controlled by Didani's organization, officials said.

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Feds: Former Michigan man led $100M cocaine org. planning to use underwater drone to send drugs to Europe

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Federal officials arrested a former Michigan resident who they say was the leader of a massive, $100 million international cocaine trafficking organization that planned to use an underwater drone to ship drugs to Europe. Ylli Didani, 43, has been charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine, acting United States Attorney Saima S.

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In order to deal with gangs more frequently using merchant ships to traffic drugs like cocaine, the ICS has adopted new standards and protocols to deal with this. Just as in Michigan, and everywhere in the world, traffickers are finding new and innovative ways to distribute.

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Criminal gangs are increasingly exploiting merchant shipping to traffic large volumes of illicit drugs to markets worldwide. Nearly 90% of all cocaine, 45% of all cannabis, and 30% of all amphetamine type stimulants seized globally during January 2017 to April 2020 were trafficked via sea, despite the best efforts of the shipping industries to combat this activity. We all share a collective responsibility to assist in combatting this illegal traffic. This is the message from the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) in its latest publication, Drug Trafficking and Drug Abuse On Board Ship: Guidelines for Owners and Masters on Preparation, Prevention, Protection and Response.

"The global value of the drugs trade is estimated at USD 426 billion, and the problems from illicit drug trafficking continue to expand and diversify," says Guy Platten, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping. "Traffickers use shipping as a vector for their illicit cargoes as ships present opportunities for high volume movements from producing to consuming countries. Drug traffickers exploit society's need to move goods and people across frontiers, and shipping is a key mode in that transport chain. We all share a collective responsibility to assist in combatting this illegal traffic and this latest publication ensures that shipowners and Masters are fully briefed on the best practices to combat this criminal trade."

Published in conjunction with Witherbys, Drug Trafficking and Drug Abuse On Board Ship is aimed at supporting the industry in meeting this collective responsibility. Considered the leading industry publication on the topic, the sixth edition has been fully updated to offer guidance on how to protect the ship and the crew and reduce the risk of drug trafficking occurring on board. It also provides advice on how to respond when faced with drug trafficking and drug abuse at sea.

The new Guidelines also take into account the impact and implications of the COVID-19 pandemic which has had an ongoing effect on drug trafficking and drug abuse, due to the changing nature of the management of national borders and the alteration of established behaviours.

Drug Trafficking and Drug Abuse On Board Ship provides essential professional guidance for shipping companies, ports, ships' officers, Masters, cargo owners, government officials, customs and the maritime industry as a whole. It identifies shipboard operational considerations and responses, as well as the training and procedures that are required both ashore and on board.

The Guidelines also explore all aspects of protection in port facilities, along with areas of cooperation between ports and ships that can help prevent drug trafficking from taking place. Whether this activity is orchestrated by criminal or terrorist organisations, the methodologies employed are sophisticated and dynamic. Successful responses need to be equally sophisticated and require a comprehensive and strategic approach to security, and the Guidelines outline a number of specific measures are detail

Since drug trafficking is an international criminal activity, improved collaboration between nations, as well as between ships and port facilities, is essential.

The latest edition of Drug Trafficking and Drug Abuse On Board Ship also includes a section on the implications of cyber risks for drug trafficking.
Source: ICS

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ICS Launches New Edition of Leading Industry Guidelines on Combatting Drug Trafficking

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Criminal gangs are increasingly exploiting merchant shipping to traffic large volumes of illicit drugs to markets worldwide. Nearly 90% of all cocaine, 45% of all cannabis, and 30% of all amphetamine type stimulants seized globally during January 2017 to April 2020 were trafficked via sea, despite the best efforts of the shipping industries to combat ...

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According to the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, nearly 1.9 million or 0.8 percent of the population aged 18 or older are current cocaine users, meaning they have used the drug in the past month. About a quarter of all cocaine users smoke crack cocaine, meaning that a majority of people who use cocaine do so in its powder form. According to the Global Drug Survey, most respondents who identified as having used cocaine consumed between 2 and 20 times in the past year.