As part of The Economist Events' Asia Trade Week 2021, Christopher Clague, managing editor for Asia at the Economist Intelligence Unit, chaired a panel supported by JTI (Japan Tobacco International) on the ways in which patterns of criminal behaviour have changed since covid-19 and how governments and enforcement agencies can better work together to tackle cross-border illicit trade. The covid-19 pandemic upended world trade. As borders closed and lockdowns tightened, getting goods to customers became a challenge. Just as businesses engaged in legal trade faced barriers, so did criminal gangs involved in moving goods illegally. Yet the continued appearance of illicit goods in South-East Asia suggests that criminals found new ways to move them.
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