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Article: Drug Trafficking, Illegal
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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DRUG TRAFFICKING, ILLEGAL
DRUG TRAFFICKING, ILLEGAL.
The black market for illegal drugs accounts for 8 percent of the world's trade revenue, according to United Nations estimates. Enormous profits can be had for those who successfully smuggle narcotics from Latin America, Southeast Asia, and other parts of the globe into the world's largest black market for illegal drugs: the United States. Successfully smuggling cocaine into the United States in the 1990s brought profits between 700 to 900 percent over origina product costs. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officials estimate that a drug organization could have 70 to 80 percent of its product confiscated before sale and still turn a ...