Trafficking Golden Crescent Drugs into Western China: An Analysis and Translation of a Recent Chinese Police Research Article

摘要

In recent years, China's law enforcement officials have shown growing concern over the increase in illegal drug trafficking from Afghanistan and the 'Golden Crescent' region into China's western region of Xinjiang. This report provides an analysis and a draft translation of a 2009 open source Chinese police article which presents an unusually detailed picture of China's concerns about this drug trafficking. The article spotlights China's anxieties about growing links between domestic Chinese traffickers-especially Xinjiang residents-and Central Asian-based international drug rings; the increasing role of Nigerians and other nationalities in this trade, and the challenges this trend creates for Chinese investigators; the evolving transport routes these traffickers use to cross the Chinese border, and: the increasing sophistication of these international traffickers. Such open source Chinese police publications can support analyses of Asian drug trends and facilitate exchanges with Chinese government officials about sensitive topics such as drug trafficking.