BRUSSELS, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Low-cost airlines and fewer trade restrictions have boosted trafficking in drugs, people and counterfeit products in Europe, authorities say.
Illegal traffickers are thriving as Europe opens more of its borders to legitimate business, said Europol, the European Union's criminal intelligence agency.
EU markets have seen a dramatic increase in marijuana from Morocco and cocaine from Latin American and West African countries, Europol said in its 2009 crime assessment released Friday.
Drugs, fake luxury goods and humans destined for sex work are traveling through the Black Sea to Romania and the Mediterranean Sea to Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro, the EU Observer reported Saturday.
Counterfeit pharmaceuticals are making their way to Europe from China, Hong Kong, India, Thailand and Turkey, the report said.
The traffickers use low-cost airlines to move their wares via flight plans with multiple stops that disguise the origin of the traffickers and their products, the report said.
