Interdicting International Drug Trafficking: a Network Approach for Coordinated and Targeted Interventions

Abstract There is a relative dearth of literature on both the effects cross-border interdictions and impact different types interventions international drug trafficking. This study identifies main trafficking routes for cocaine heroin, along with comparing disruptive induced by targeted non-coordinated interventions. It adopts social network approach to identify which heroin are trafficked, then simulates interdiction strategies these two networks. The findings indicate that targeting countries based their respective positions in networks, as opposed basis quantity drugs exchanged, more likely disrupt flows. More specifically, concentrating law enforcement resources several incoming or outgoing connections, those mediate between producer, transit consumer countries, would appear be particularly effective this regard. Interventions focused specific also if have high edge betweenness centrality scores. contributes extant understanding vulnerability and, moreover, demonstrates empirically-driven potentially at interdicting than non-strategic